The Use of Competition in a School-based Intervention for Increasing Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Adolescents

NCT06699862 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 385CER23
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Regular physical activity offers numerous physical, psychological, and cognitive health benefits. However, physical inactivity among adolescents remains a global concern, with 81% of 11- to 17-year-olds failing to meet WHO's recommendation of at least one hour of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity daily. This inactivity contributes to immediate and long-term health risks, as many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adulthood are linked to behaviors established during adolescence. Promoting healthy lifestyles early is crucial for lifelong health and disease prevention. One significant barrier to effective school-based physical activity programs, such as High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), is maintaining student motivation. Low engagement often results in poor adherence. Integrating competition-focused on effort rather than performance-may enhance student participation and make HIIT interventions more effective and easier to implement. This study will evaluate the impact of competition on the Burn 2 Learn - Mallorca (B2L-M) program, targeting adolescents aged 15-18. The intervention aims to determine whether competition improves engagement and outcomes compared to non-competitive groups. The primary outcome is cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), while secondary outcomes include muscular strength, physical activity levels, body composition, mental health (stress and sleep quality), behavior change mediators (self-efficacy, motivation), on-task behavior, blood pressure, and sitting posture. The B2L-M intervention will involve a 16-week, three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial in Mallorca, Spain, recruiting approximately 360 students from six schools. The program includes teacher-led HIIT sessions twice weekly during physical education, supported by information seminars, a dedicated website, and parental e-newsletters. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and after 16 weeks.

Conditions

Cardiorespratory Fitness; Mental Health; School-based Intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Cardiorespiratory fitness

  CRF will be assessed using the ALPHA (Assessing Levels of Physical Fitness and Health in Adolescents) health-related fitness test battery for children and adolescents. Participants are required to run between two lines 20 m apart in time with an audio signal. The initial speed of the signal is 8.5 km/h and increases by 0.5 km/h per minute. The test ends when the participant fails to reach the end lines in sync with the audio signal on two consecutive occasions or stops due to fatigue. The total number of laps will be used to estimate maximal aerobic capacity (i.e., VO₂ max).

  10 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (14)

• Physical activity

  10 weeks

• Musculoskeletal fitness (muscular strength)

  10 weeks

• Waist circumference

  10 weeks

• Height

  10 weeks

• Weight

  10 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

During the 10-week intervention period, the control group will continue their regular physical education (PE) classes, taught by the schools' PE teachers following the standard curriculum.

Experimental condition 1: HIIT without competition (HIIT)

EXPERIMENTAL

In the experimental group, Burn 2 Learn - Mallorca (B2L-M) HIIT sessions will be incorporated into regular PE classes twice a week, delivered by the schools' PE teachers. Each session will last 8-10 minutes at the start of class and include a brief warm-up with a mix of aerobic and bodyweight muscle-strengthening exercises. The sessions are designed to be both vigorous and enjoyable to maximize student engagement.

Behavioral: High Intensity Interval Training

Experimental condition 2: HIIT with competition (HIIT+C)

EXPERIMENTAL

A key challenge of HIIT is motivating students to maintain high-intensity effort (≥85% of maximum heart rate). To address this, the second experimental condition introduces a competitive element as a motivational strategy. Students will participate in a 10-week school competition to earn points for their class. During each HIIT session, heart rate data will be tracked to monitor exercise intensity and calculate competition points. Each class will earn points equal to the total minutes of vigorous exercise (≥85% of maximum heart rate) achieved collectively by its members. The competition focuses exclusively on effort rather than physical fitness, ensuring that all participants can contribute equally regardless of their initial fitness levels. This approach emphasizes engagement and teamwork while encouraging students to give their best effort during the sessions.

Behavioral: High Intensity Interval Training with Competition

Interventions

High Intensity Interval Training BEHAVIORAL

Throughout the 10-weeks intervention period, B2L-M HIIT sessions will be delivered during regular PE classes twice a week, by the schools' PE teachers. The HIIT sessions will be applied in the first 8-10 min of each PE class, including a brief warm-up involving a combination of aerobic and body weight muscle-strengthening exercises, and designed to be fun and engaging as well as vigorous in nature

Experimental condition 1: HIIT without competition (HIIT)

High Intensity Interval Training with Competition BEHAVIORAL

Students will participate in a school competition to win points for their class for a 10-week period. In every HIIT session the heart rate will be tracked to measure the exercise intensity and also it will be used to win points for the competition. Every class will receive the same number of points as the sum of the minutes of exercise at a vigorous intensity (i.e., ≥85% max. heart rate) of each participant. This fact means that the physical fitness is irrelevant to the competition aspect, which will only consider the effort of the participants.

Experimental condition 2: HIIT with competition (HIIT+C)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Students who belong from "3º ESO" to "1º bachillerato" levels

You may not qualify if:

• Students with a health or medical condition that would preclude participation in vigorous physical activity will be excluded from the study but will still participate in normal lessons adapted by the PE teacher

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of the Balearic Islands: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of the Balearic Islands

Palma, Balearic Islands, 07122, Spain

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Interventions

High-Intensity Interval Training

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 7, 2024
• First Posted: November 21, 2024
• Study Start: March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2025
• Study Completion: April 1, 2025
• Last Updated: November 21, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-11

Locations

ES (1)