INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Physical fitness level is a marker of cardiovascular health in young people. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a school-based intervention program, focused on increasing the volume and intensity of physical education (PE) sessions, on adolescents' physical fitness. METHODS:Sixty-seven adolescents (12-14 years old) from three secondary school classes participated in a 16-week intervention. The classes were randomly allocated to the control group, experimental group 1 (EG1) or experimental group 2 (EG2). The control group received standard PE (2 sessions/week), the EG1 received 4 standard PE sessions/week and the EG2 received four high-intensity PE sessions/week. Aerobic fitness, muscle strength, speed-agility and flexibility were assessed using previously validated field-based tests before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Doubling the number of PE sessions/week resulted in improvements in aerobic fitness and flexibility (P=.008 and P=.04, respectively). Further increases in the intensity of the sessions were related to improvements in speed-agility (P<.001). The maximal oxygen consumption increased by 3 and 5 mL/kg/min in the EG1 and EG2, respectively. No differences were observed for muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that doubling the frequency of PE sessions is a sufficient stimulus to improve physical fitness, particularly aerobic fitness, which has been shown to be a powerful indicator of cardiovascular health in children and adolescents. Future studies involving larger sample sizes should confirm or refute these findings.
RCT Entities:
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Physical fitness level is a marker of cardiovascular health in young people. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a school-based intervention program, focused on increasing the volume and intensity of physical education (PE) sessions, on adolescents' physical fitness. METHODS: Sixty-seven adolescents (12-14 years old) from three secondary school classes participated in a 16-week intervention. The classes were randomly allocated to the control group, experimental group 1 (EG1) or experimental group 2 (EG2). The control group received standard PE (2 sessions/week), the EG1 received 4 standard PE sessions/week and the EG2 received four high-intensity PE sessions/week. Aerobic fitness, muscle strength, speed-agility and flexibility were assessed using previously validated field-based tests before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Doubling the number of PE sessions/week resulted in improvements in aerobic fitness and flexibility (P=.008 and P=.04, respectively). Further increases in the intensity of the sessions were related to improvements in speed-agility (P<.001). The maximal oxygen consumption increased by 3 and 5 mL/kg/min in the EG1 and EG2, respectively. No differences were observed for muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that doubling the frequency of PE sessions is a sufficient stimulus to improve physical fitness, particularly aerobic fitness, which has been shown to be a powerful indicator of cardiovascular health in children and adolescents. Future studies involving larger sample sizes should confirm or refute these findings.
Authors: Gioia Mura; Nuno B F Rocha; Ingo Helmich; Henning Budde; Sergio Machado; Mirko Wegner; Antonio Egidio Nardi; Oscar Arias-Carrión; Marcello Vellante; Antonia Baum; Marco Guicciardi; Scott B Patten; Mauro Giovanni Carta Journal: Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health Date: 2015-02-26
Authors: David Melero-Cañas; Vicente Morales-Baños; David Manzano-Sánchez; Dani Navarro-Ardoy; Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2021-01-12
Authors: David Melero-Canas; David Manzano-Sánchez; Daniel Navarro-Ardoy; Vicente Morales-Baños; Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-03-27 Impact factor: 3.390