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Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training on Fitness, Fat Mass and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers in Children with Obesity: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Sports Medicine volume 48, pages 733–746 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Paediatric obesity significantly increases the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases across the lifespan. Increasing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) could mitigate this risk. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) improves CRF in clinical adult populations but the evidence in paediatric obesity is inconsistent.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of a 12-week, HIIT intervention for increasing CRF and reducing adiposity in children with obesity.

Methods

Children with obesity (n = 99, 7–16 years old) were randomised into a 12-week intervention as follows: (1) HIIT [n = 33, 4 × 4-min bouts at 85–95% maximum heart rate (HRmax), interspersed with 3 min of active recovery at 50–70% HRmax, 3 times/week] and nutrition advice; (2) moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) [n = 32, 44 min at 60–70% HRmax, 3 times/week] and nutrition advice; and (3) nutrition advice only (nutrition) [n = 34]. CRF was quantified through a maximal exercise test (\( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{2_{\text{peak}} }} \)) while adiposity was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and air-displacement plethysmography.

Results

HIIT stimulated significant increases in relative \( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{2_{\text{peak}} }} \) compared with MICT (+3.6 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 1.1–6.0, P = 0.004) and the nutrition intervention (+5.4 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 2.9–7.9, P = 0.001). However, the intervention had no significant effect on visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, whole body composition or cardiometabolic biomarkers (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

A 12-week, HIIT intervention was highly effective in increasing cardiorespiratory fitness when compared with MICT and nutrition interventions. While there were no concomitant reductions in adiposity or blood biomarkers, the cardiometabolic health benefit conferred through increased CRF should be noted.

Clinical trials registration number

Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01991106.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms Rachel Haddow for holding the nutrition consultations with participants and their families at The University of Queensland, as well as Mr. Aiman Al Najjar and Mrs. Nicole Atcheson for their magnetic resonance imaging technical support. Cardiorespiratory fitness assessments and exercise sessions were conducted at the core facility NeXt Move, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

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Author notes

  1. Katrin A. Dias and Charlotte B. Ingul contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Katrin A. Dias, Shelley E. Keating & Jeff S. Coombes

  2. Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Charlotte B. Ingul, Arnt E. Tjønna, Mansoureh S. Hosseini & Siri M. Hollekim-Strand

  3. Helse Midt-Norge RHF, Strandvegen 1, Stjørdal, Norway

    Charlotte B. Ingul

  4. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Sjaan R. Gomersall

  5. Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Turid Follestad

  6. Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Torstein B. Ro

  7. Department of Pediatrics, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Torstein B. Ro

  8. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Margrete Haram & Else Marie Huuse

  9. Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Peter S. W. Davies

  10. Heart Care Partners, The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Peter A. Cain

  11. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Gary M. Leong

  12. Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Gary M. Leong

Authors
  1. Katrin A. Dias
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  2. Charlotte B. Ingul
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeff S. Coombes.

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Funding

This work was supported by St Olav’s Hospital and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Grant no. 9527), Sports Medicine Australia Research Foundation, and The Wesley and St Andrew’s Research Institute (Grant no. 2014-01). Shelley E. Keating is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship.

Conflict of interest

Jeff S. Coombes reports grants outside the submitted work from Coca Cola and Renew Corp and personal fees from Tolmar and Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals. Shelley E. Keating reports grants outside the submitted work from Exercise and Sports Science Australia and Diabetes Australia. Sjaan R. Gomersall reports grants outside the submitted work from Exercise and Sports Science Australia and Cycling Victoria. Katrin A. Dias, Charlotte B. Ingul, Arnt E. Tjonna, Turid Follestad, Mansoureh S. Hosseini, Siri M. Hollekim-Strand, Torstein B. Ro, Margrete Haram, Else Marie Huuse, Peter SW. Davies, Peter A. Cain and Gary M. Leong have no conflicts of interest directly relevant to the content of this article.

Ethics Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (Reference no. 2009/1313-4), The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no. 2013000539), The Mater Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no. HREC/13/MHS/119/AM01) and the Uniting Care Health Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no. 1324), and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Dias, K.A., Ingul, C.B., Tjønna, A.E. et al. Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training on Fitness, Fat Mass and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers in Children with Obesity: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Sports Med 48, 733–746 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0777-0

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