New evidence shows that short, intense HIIT workouts can offer great health benefits for obese adolescents, improving physical fitness, blood pressure and cholesterol, even if the scale does not change.
Study: The impact of high intensity training on health-related results in obese adolescents: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Credit Picture: PAZA/Shutterstock.com
Exercise and balanced and nutritious nutrition is the key to a healthy lifestyle. A recent systematic review published in Borders in physiology He examined the impact of high intensity training (HIIT) on health in obese adolescents.
Import
Obesity in adolescence creates physical and emotional difficulties, including cardiovascular risk, depression, poor body image and low self -esteem. The number of overweight people aged 5 and 19 was crossed 390 million in 2022. This represents 20% of people in this demographic, from 8% in 1990.
Exercise and nutrition have proven effective in tackling over-weight in age group 11-19. Smartphone -based interventions have also been associated with better results than weight management programs in this group.
Hiit can be combined with dietary and behavioral approaches to make the most of exercise interventions. This strategy includes short but intense launches of intense exercise with lower intensity recovery phases in the meantime. Since teenagers usually have a full program with school, sports and social commitments and (often) reduced motivation for exercise, Hiit could be a valuable approach to this group, as opposed to conventional continuous training of moderate intensity.
Some Hiit benefits include the need for less exercise, offering equally good or even better ability, reduced body fat, improve metabolic health and increase aerobic capacity. In addition, hiit has an anti -inflammatory effect on the body. The previous research has linked it to favorable changes of adipoquin, including the highest Omenin-1. This combination of results seems to further improve metabolic regulatory function.
Hiit also reduces blood pressure and increases VO2Top, indicating improved cardiopulmonary capacity in this population. However, conflicting data caused this current systematic review.
For the study
The researchers searched four databases for randomized controlled tests (RCTs) on this subject. They focused on the impact of such an exercise on the functioning of the body in this group.
There were 11 articles that fulfilled the eligibility criteria, covering a total of 611 participants. They were classified as checks (283) and intervention groups (328), between 11 and 17 years.
Studies have covered multiple continents, including Poland and Denmark in Europe, China in Asia, South Africa, USA and Brazil in South America. Some prejudice was observed. For example, distribution of distribution was unclear in ~ 38% of studies, and smaller proportions showed performance bias, frictional prejudice or reference bias, partly due to small sample sizes, efficiency prejudice associated with intact blind and prejudice.
The small sample size could have introduced prejudice due to random errors and limited statistical power. Since participants came from clinics and obesity schools, this could contribute to heterogeneity in studies.
In the first case, close monitoring and expert consultants are the rule. On the contrary, a generally qualified training personnel may be deprived of the specialized training required for this particular group in the latter case. The geographical environment could also contribute to differences in the standardization of HIIT protocols, either due to local stops, lack of resources or lack of trained professionals.
Study findings
Hiit significantly reduced the percentage of body fat in obese adolescents while improving VO2Top, a meter of aerobic capacity. This has been associated with better cardiovascular ability, metabolic health and insulin sensitivity.
High density lipoprotein (“good” cholesterol) also increased with HIIT, while systolic blood pressure decreased. Paradoxically, there has been no significant reduction in the Body Mass Index (BMI), perhaps because gain in muscle tissue offset the reduction of adipose mass in the body.
When the researchers examined the structure of the exercise protocols more closely, they found that the hiit was performed twice a week was particularly effective. This frequency was associated with improvements in BMI, higher reductions in body fat rate and profits in aerobic capacity. The sessions included in the studies were 1-30 minutes or 30-60 minutes, depending on the protocol. This variant suggests that the shortest and longer HIIT sessions can be effective, provided that education is consistently done.
The immediate benefits of HIIT probably come from improved cardiopulmonary and metabolic capacity caused by better sensitivity to insulin and mitochondrial biogenesis. Long -term compliance and benefits have not been studied equally. Hiit longer periods are probably obliged to allow the body to adapt more resistant to education and for the formation of habit. Maintaining participants remains a living problem in this area.
Conclusions
Hiit does not seem to significantly reduce BMI in obese adolescents. However, it improves the percentage of body fat and increases aerobic capacity. Increased HDL improved blood cholesterol profile, while systolic blood pressure decreased. These changes provide for a reduced cardiovascular risk with HIIT in obese adolescents.
Overall, the findings emphasize HIIT’s potential as an effective intervention to improve body synthesis and cardiovascular health in obese adolescents, although its effect on BMI appears minimal.
Significant differences between studies support further research before the general findings. Future work should identify the best HIIT protocols and evaluate the long -term health results so that optimal recommendations can be released for this group of people at risk.
