Abstract
Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is considered as an established risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. However, the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) versus moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in children and adolescents remained uncertain. Electronic databases of the PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigated the role of HIIT versus MICT for children and adolescents throughout December 2019. Sixteen RCTs involving a total of 543 children were selected for final meta-analysis. HIIT versus MICT showed high peak VO2 (weighted mean differences (WMD): 2.68; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.81 to 3.55; P < 0.001 ), and no evidence of heterogeneity and publication bias was detected. However, there were no significant differences detected between HIIT and MICT on the levels of peak heart rate (HRmax), fat mass, free fat mass, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glycemia, insulinemia, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, and leptinemia. The findings of this study revealed that HIIT versus MICT showed a significant improvement in peak VO2 in children and adolescents. Further large-scale RCTs should be conducted to compare the long-term effects of HIIT versus MICT in children and adolescents.
Highlights
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an objective reproducible physiological response that is affected by physical activity habits, genetics, and disease status [1]
The results revealed that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has no significant effect on systolic blood pressure (SBP) when compared with moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) (WMD: -1.36; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): -3.99 to 1.27; P = 0:311; Figure 9), and significant heterogeneity was detected (I2 = 65:1%; P = 0:005)
There are several strengths in this study that should be highlighted: (1) this study provided the comprehensive health results between HIIT and MICT in children and adolescents; (2) the analysis of this study was based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which included high evidence level results; (3) the analysis was based on inclusion of large number of trials, and the results were robust than any individual trial, and (4) stratified analyses for investigated outcomes according to the mean age of subjects were conducted
Summary
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an objective reproducible physiological response that is affected by physical activity habits, genetics, and disease status [1]. Low CRF in subjects is identified as a risk factor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [2]. The gold standard for CRF included maximal oxygen uptake, which is measured directly or indirectly by maximal graded cardiorespiratory test [3,4,5]. High CRF during childhood and adolescence showed association with reduced risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease [6]. A study involving 25.4 million children and adolescents from 27 countries with CRF showed declination by 3.6% per decade [5]. Regular physical activity could improve CRF [7] and whether different types of physical activity yields differential effects on CRF and other cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents remains controversial
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