High-intensity interval training can improve certain cardiovascular health parameters in children and adolescents. |
Evidence supporting the overall effectiveness of high-intensity interval training as a means of eliciting improvements to other health outcomes, specifically body composition and blood pressure, remains unclear. |
While this review enables the establishment of suggested guidelines for high-intensity interval training protocols, recommendations for some protocol details remain unclear. |
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
2.1 Inclusion Criteria
2.1.1 Types of Study
2.1.2 Types of Participant
2.1.3 Intervention Variables and Outcome Measures
2.1.4 Intervention Intensity Variables
2.1.5 Primary Outcomes
2.2 Search Strategy
2.3 Data Collection and Analysis
2.4 Effect Size
2.5 Risk of Bias Assessment
2.6 Heterogeneity Assessment
3 Results
References | Sample population | Maturation | INT duration (wk) | INT type | Group size (n) | Modality/ intensity | Repeated bouts/ frequency | Exercise bout/ recovery duration | Protocol duration (including recovery) | Total exercise INT duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baquet et al. [22] | Pre-pubertal primary school children; N = 53 (23 boys; 8–11 years) | Maturation measured, but not reported | 7 | HIIT protocol | 33 | Shuttle runs (100–130 % MAS) | Bouts: 5–10 Sets: 1–4 3-min rest between set (2 times weekly) | 10–20 s/ 10–20 s | 30 min | 7 h |
Control | 20 | |||||||||
Baquet et al. [40] | Primary school children; N = 77 (43 boys; 9.6 ± 1.0 years) | Stage 1 = 40 boys, 29 girls Stage 3 = 3 boys, 5 girls combined <3 | 7 | HIIT protocol | 22 | Shuttle runs (100–130 % MAS) | Bouts: 5–10 Sets: 1–4 3-min rest between set (3 times weekly) | 10–30 s/ 10–30 s | 25–35 min | 10 h and 30 min |
Moderate | 22 | Shuttle runs (80–85 % MAS) | Bouts: 1–4 (3 times weekly) | 6–18 min/ 5 min | 18–39 min | 7 h and 21 min | ||||
Control | 19 | |||||||||
Baquet et al. [41] | Pre-pubertal children; N = 100 (46 boys; 9.7 ± 0.8 years) | Stage 1 = 46 boys, 25 girls Stage 3 = 29 girls combined <3 | 7 | HIIT protocol | 47 | Shuttle runs (100–130 % MAS) | Bouts: 5–10 Sets: 1–4 3-min rest between set (2 times weekly) | 10–20 s/ 10–20 s | 30 min | 7 h |
Control | 53 | |||||||||
Lambrick et al. [42] | Obese and normal weight children; N = 55 (32 boys) | Peak height velocity at baseline: INT = 2.7 ± 0.1 CON = 2.65 ± 0.05 | 6 | HIIT protocol | 28 | Child specific games (93% mean HRmax) | Bouts: 7 (2 times weekly) | 6 min/2 min | 60 min | 12 h |
Control | 27 | |||||||||
Lau et al. [24] | Overweight primary school children; N = 48 (36 boys; 10.4 ± 0.9 years) | Maturation not reported | 6 | HIIT protocol | 15 | Shuttle runs (120 % MAS) | Bouts: 12 (3 times weekly) | 15 s/15 s | 6 min | 1 h and 48 min |
LIT protocol | 21 | Shuttle runs (100 % MAS) | Bouts: 16 (3 times weekly) | 15 s/15 s | 8 min | 2 h and 24 min | ||||
Control | 12 | |||||||||
Nourry et al. [43] | Pre-pubertal children; N = 18 (11 boys; 10.0 ± 0.8 years) | Stage 1 = 18 | 8 | HIIT protocol | 9 | Shuttle runs (100–130 % MAS) | Bouts: 10 Sets: 4 times (2 times weekly) | 10–20 s/ 10–20 s | 30 min | 8 h |
Control | 9 | |||||||||
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | Pre-pubertal children; N = 16 (2 boys; 7–12 years) | Stage 1 = 16 | 8 | HIIT protocol | 8 | Shuttle runs (100–130 % MAS) | Bouts: 5–10 Sets: 4 times (2 times weekly) | 10–20 s/ 10–20 s | 30 min | 8 h |
Control | 8 |
References | Sample population | Maturation | INT duration (wk) | INT type | Group size (n) | Modality/ intensity | Repeated bouts/ frequency | Exercise bout/ recovery duration | Protocol duration (including recovery) | Total exercise INT duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baquet et al. [25] | Secondary school children; N = 551 (290 boys; 11–16 years) | Not reported | 10 | HIIT protocol | 503 | Shuttle runs (100–120 % MAS) | Bouts: 10 Sets: 3 3-min rest between set (1 times weekly) | 10 s/10 s | 60 min | 10 h |
Control | 48 | |||||||||
Boddy et al. [44] | Secondary school girls; N = 16 (11.8 ± 0.3 years) | Peak height velocity at baseline: | 3 | HIIT protocol | 8 | Dance class (>93.4 mean % HRmax) | Bouts: 6 (4 times weekly) | 30 s/45 s | 20 min | 4 h |
INT = 0.187 ± 0.37 CON = 0.028 ± 0.427 | Control | 8 | ||||||||
Racil et al. [30] | Obese female adolescents; N = 47 (14.2 ± 1.2 years) | Not reported | 12 | HIIT protocol | 17 | Various types of interval training (100% MAS) | Bouts: 8–16 (3 times weekly) | 15 s/15 s | 4–8 min | 3 h and 36 min |
Moderate | 16 | Various types of interval training (80% MAS) | Bouts: 8–16 (3 times weekly) | 15 s/15 s | 4–8 min | 3 h and 36 min | ||||
Control | 14 | |||||||||
Sperlich et al. [45] | Male soccer players; N = 19 (13.5 ± 0.4 years) | Maturation not reported | 5 | HIIT protocol | 9 | Various types of interval training (90–95 % HRmax) | Bouts: 4–12 (3–4 times weekly) | 30 s to 4 min/30 s to 3 min | 30 min | 8 h and 45 min |
Moderate | 8 | Various types of interval training (50–70 % HRmax) | Bouts: 1–5 (3–4 times weekly) | 10–30 min/1–3 min | 40–60 min | 14 h and 35 min | ||||
Tjønna et al. [23] | Overweight and obese adolescents; N = 54 (26 boys; 14.0 ± 0.3 years) | Maturation not reported | 12 | HIIT protocol | 28 | Treadmill walking/running (90–95 % HRmax) | Bouts: 4 (2 times weekly) | 4 min/3 min | 25 min | 10 h |
Control | 26 | |||||||||
Weston et al. [29] | Adolescent secondary school children; N = 101 (62 boys; 14.0 ± 0.3 years) | Peak height velocity at baseline: | 10 | HIIT protocol | 41 | Games based (>90% mean HRmax) | Bouts: 4–7 (3 times weekly) | 45 s/90 s | 7 min 30 s to 14 min 15 s | 5 h and 30 min |
INT = 0.3 ± 1.0 Control = 0.5 ± 1.3 | Control | 60 |
3.1 Risk of Bias
References | Domain A | Domain B | Domain C | Domain D | Domain E | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baquet et al. [22] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Baquet et al. [25] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Baquet et al. [40] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Baquet et al. [41] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Boddy et al. [44] | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Lambrick et al. [42] | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Lau et al. [24] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Nourry et al. [43] | Some | Low | Low | Low | Low | Some |
Racil et al. [30] | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | Some | Low | Low | Low | Low | Some |
Sperlich et al. [45] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
Tjønna et al. [23] | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Weston et al. [29] | High | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |
3.2 Body Mass and Composition
References | Outcome measure | HIIT (mean change from baseline) | Control/moderate (mean change from baseline) | Effect size (Cohen’s d) | 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baquet et al. [25] | BMI (kg/m2) | 0.40** | 0.60** |
−0.14 |
−0.78 to 0.49 |
Baquet et al. [40] | BMI (kg/m2) | 0.10 |
−0.30/0.20 |
−0.10 |
−0.78 to 0.58 |
Boddy et al. [44] | BMI (kg/m2) |
−0.50 | 0.20 | 0.93 | 0.30 to 1.56 |
Lambrick et al. [42] | BMI (kg/m2) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.23 |
−0.40 to 0.87 |
Lau et at. [24] | BMI (kg/m2) | 0.20 | 0.10/0.40* | 0.42 |
−0.18 to 1.01 |
Racil et al. [30] | BMI (kg/m2) |
−3.20* | 0.30/−1.70* |
−1.41 |
−3.52 to 0.69 |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | BMI (kg/m2) |
−1.40 | 0.00 |
−0.06 |
−0.73 to 0.61 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | BMI (kg/m2) |
−0.70** |
−0.20 |
−1.50 |
−2.06 to −0.94 |
Weston et al. [29] | BMI (kg/m2) |
−0.60a
| 0.80a
| N/A | N/A |
Baquet et al. [25] | Body fat (%) | 1.60* | 1.30* |
−0.31 |
−0.94 to 0.33 |
Baquet et al. [22] | Body fat (%) |
−0.90 |
−0.70 | 0.10 |
−0.51 to 0.71 |
Baquet et al. [41] | Body fat (%) | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.02 |
−0.66 to 0.69 |
Boddy et al. [44] | Body fat (%) | 0.22 | 0.46 | 0.61 | 0.14 to 1.07 |
Lambrick et al. [42] | Body fat (%) |
−0.10 | 0.40 | 0.08 |
−0.49 to 0.65 |
Nourry et al. [43] | Body fat (%) | 1.50 | 0.50 | 0.14 |
−0.56 to 0.84 |
Racil et al. [30] | Body fat (%) |
−3.90* |
−0.50/−3.40* |
−0.59 |
−1.06 to −0.12 |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | Body fat (%) |
−2.20 |
−1.00 |
−0.17 |
−0.80 to 0.45 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | Body fat (%) |
−0.90** |
−0.30 | 3.00 | 2.35 to 3.65 |
Sperlich et al. [45] | FFM (kg) | 1.00 | 0.90 | 0.71 | 0.28 to 1.13 |
3.3 Cardiovascular Health
3.3.1 Blood Pressure
References | Outcome measure (mmHg) | HIIT (mean change from baseline) | Control/moderate (mean change from baseline) | Effect size (Cohen’s d) | 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boddy et al. [44] | SBP | 10.10 | −1.40 | 0.34 | 0.08 to 0.61 |
Racil et al. [30] | SBP | −0.60* | 0.00/−0.40* | 0.00 | −0.26 to 0.26 |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | SBP | −2.20 | −2.50 | −0.54 | −0.82 to −0.26 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | SBP | −9.40** | −2.50* | −2.00 | −2.31 to −1.69 |
Weston et al. [29] | SBP | −5.00a
| −1.00a
| N/A | N/A |
Boddy et al. [44] | DBP | 5.90 | −4.10 | 1.14 | 0.75 to 1.52 |
Racil et al. [30] | DBP | −6.00* | −1.00/−4.00* | −0.32 |
−0.64 to 0.01 |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | DBP | −2.50 | −1.70 | −0.83 | −1.18 to −0.48 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | DBP | −5.50** | 1.80 | −1.50 | −1.89 to −1.11 |
Weston et al. [29] | DBP | −6.00a
| −4.00a
| N/A | N/A |
3.3.2 Cardiovascular Disease Biomarker Health
References | Outcome measure | HIIT (mean change from baseline) | Control/moderate (mean change from baseline) | Effect size (Cohen’s d) | 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Racil et al. [30] | Glucose (mmol∙L−1) | −0.20* | 0.00/−0.20* | −0.32 | −0.44 to 0.13 |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | Glucose (mg/dL) | 5.20 | 0.40 | −0.16 | −1.80 to 1.17 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | Glucose (mmol∙L−1) | −0.30** | −0.10 | −1.43 | −3.01 to 0.16 |
Weston et al. [29] | Glucose (mmol∙L−1) | −0.10a
| −0.03a
| N/A | N/A |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | −22.00* | 2.40 | −0.93 | −1.16 to −0.70 |
Weston et al. [29] | Total cholesterol (mmol∙L−1) | −0.24a
| 0.00a
| N/A | N/A |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 9.90 | 3.60 | 0.42 | 0.02 to 0.81 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | HDL-cholesterol (mmol∙L−1) | 0.11* | 0.09 | 0.35 | −0.50 to 1.20 |
Weston et al. [29] | HDL-cholesterol (mmol∙L−1) | −0.14a
| −0.24a
| N/A | N/A |
Rosenkranz et al. [28] | LDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | −34.80* | −5.60 | −1.67 | −2.03 to −1.31 |
Rosenkranz et al. (2012) [28] | Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 23.50 | 3.50 | −0.07 | −0.33 to 0.19 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | Triglycerides (mmol∙L−1) | −0.50 | −0.10 | −0.71 | −1.57 to 0.14 |
Weston et al. [29] | Triglycerides (mmol∙L−1) | −0.05a
| 0.18a
| N/A | N/A |
Racil et al. [30] | Insulin (IU mL−1) | −5.70* | −0.80/−4.30* | −0.82 | −1.55 to −0.10 |
Tjønna et al. [23] | Insulin (pmol/L) | −54.30* | −33.00* | −0.46 | −0.70 to −0.22 |