Does physical and health education classes improve physical fitness?

Author(s):  
Ronald Chow ◽  
Drew Hollenberg ◽  
Cooper Midroni ◽  
Stuart Cumner

AbstractTraditional continuous exercise, as well as low-volume high-intensity interval training in adults, have shown to offer benefits to one’s cardio-metabolic health. With the benefits of physical activity being proven without a doubt, education curricula around the world have implemented physical and health education programs with the aim of promoting a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and healthy habits. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether physical and health education, alone without any change, improved heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SP) and diastolic blood pressure (DP) of adolescents at Crescent School. HR, SP and DP of students were recorded before and immediately after they ran 1 mile, and statistical analyses were conducted to determine whether there was any difference in HR, SP and DP from baseline at the beginning of the year to Term 2, the middle of the school year. While mile-run times did improve from baseline to Term 2, SP, DP and HR did not significantly change from one term to another. This study does suggest that SP, DP and HR are not affected by physical and health education classes, but it is important to keep in mind that the sample group was already a very healthy and active group.

Author(s):  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Beier Zhang ◽  
Liaoyan Gan ◽  
Limei Ke ◽  
Yingyao Fu ◽  
...  

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an online high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention and health education on the behaviors, mental health, and cognitive function of sedentary young females. A single-blinded, six-week, randomized controlled pilot trial involving 70 sedentary young Chinese females, aged 18–30 years, was conducted. An intervention group (IG) (n = 33) underwent a HIIT intervention and health education, while a waitlist group (WG) (n = 37) only received health education. In pre-, mid-, and post-tests, both groups filled out questionnaires about physical activity, sedentary behavior, and mental health. Cognitive functions were assessed at the pre- and post-tests by computer-administered cognitive tests. A mixed-effect model with repeated measures was used to analyze outcomes of interest. The retention rate of the IG and WG was 100% and 78.38%, respectively. The IG were found to have significantly increased rates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (Mdiff = 940.61, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 576.67, 1304.55) from pre-test to post-test, while the WG demonstrated a more marked reduction in sedentary time (Mdiff = −73.02, p = 0.038, 95% CI: −141.90, −4.14) compared with the IG in the post-test. Moreover, anxiety and stress levels were shown to significantly reduce in the IG over the six-week period (Mdiff = −4.73, p = 0.002, 95% CI: −7.30, −2.15 and Mdiff = −5.09, p = 0.001, 95% CI: −8.29, −1.89, respectively). In addition, we observed a significant improvement in verbal ability (p = 0.008, ηp2 = 0.19) following the HIIT intervention and effects of the interaction with time on processing speed (p = 0.050, ηp2 = 0.10) and episodic memory (p = 0.048, ηp2 = 0.11). Moreover, the IG had better global cognitive performance than the WG in the post-test (Mdiff = 8.28, p = 0.003, 95% CI: 3.06, 13.50). In summary, both an online bodyweight HIIT intervention combined with health education, or health education alone, can effectively improve health-related behaviors, but the behavioral consequences may differ based on the emphasis of different intervention modalities. Furthermore, the “bodyweight HIIT plus health education” modality might be a more promising online intervention strategy to mitigate against negative emotions and improve cognitive function.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Chow ◽  
Cooper Midroni ◽  
Drew Hollenberg ◽  
Stuart Cumner

Abstract Many studies have investigated whether elevated levels of physical activity and fitness improve academic performance in children, but only a few have examined whether it is physical fitness which varies with academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine if academic performance is indeed an indicator for physical fitness. For this study, middle school students were recruited for the necessary values and information. The data acquired for academic performance were based off of a public honour roll list distributed within the school community and physical fitness was evaluated via mile-run time, resting, post-active blood pressure and heart rate. There were no differences in proportion across the academic cohorts for any measurements of physical fitness. There was no conclusion such as “students with higher academic performance are less physically fit”; all academic cohorts had relatively similar levels of physical fitness. This may be due to mandatory physical and health education classes, which all students attend; the physical fitness levels are similar due to similar training.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Ruichen Jiang ◽  
Wei Cheng ◽  
Haifeng Ma

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown in studies to enhance glucose management and cardiovascular well-being in patients with type 2 diabetes. In this study, we used power cycling to assess the physical activity levels of men with type 2 diabetes during a single low-volume HIIT session. First, fifty-six men with type 2 diabetes volunteered to take part in the study, and they were split into two groups based on the International Physical Activity Scale Short Form (IPA). To the first 1–4 labor bouts, both the sufficiently physically active and insufficiently physically active groups exhibited equal positive emotional reactions ( p > 0.05 ). However, over time (about 5–10 times), both of them showed reduced emotional reactions, with a significant difference ( p < 0.01 ). The insufficiently physically active group had lower mean emotional response, lowest effective response, and maximum effective response values than the sufficiently physically active group ( p < 0.001 ), while the difference in RPE between the two groups was not statistically significant ( p > 0.05 ). From the standpoint of emotional response, the proposed model shows that HIIT or reduced volume HIIT exercise prescriptions should be utilized with caution in physical activity programs for novices and less active and chronically sick persons. The frequency, intensity, and effects of low-volume HIIT on individuals’ emotional reactions and health conditions in the T2DM group are also investigated. Furthermore, this low-volume HIIT program can be successfully applied in the real-world setting of people who are not physically active enough or who are chronically unwell.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
Ana Luísa Freitas Siqueira ◽  
Gabriela Souza Faria ◽  
Pedro De Oliveira Neto ◽  
Maria Paula Fabrício de Andrade ◽  
Bruna Pereira Molina Cruz ◽  
...  

Physical training is used in the control of arterial hypertension (AH), especially in patients with higher levels of blood pressure (BP). However, there are still few studies on the effects of physical training on AH in less advanced stages of the disease. The aim of the present study was to assess the immediate and late acute effects of continuous moderate physical training (CMT) and high intensity interval training (HIIT) in patients with mild AH, and to assess which training method induces a greater hypotensive effect. A female patient, 43 years old, sedentary, diagnosed with mild AH (stage 1), taking Losartana 50 mg twice a day was studied. She underwent one CMT and one HIIT session, one week apart. BP measurements were taken before and after each session, as well as 24 hours before and after the sessions. After the physical training sessions, we observed a drop in the patient's BP that lasted up to 60 minutes, and a reduction in blood pressure levels on the day after the training. We conclude that both training modalities were efficient in reducing the BP of the patient with mild acute immediate and delayed hypertension.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle R Jospe ◽  
Melyssa Roy ◽  
Rachel C Brown ◽  
Jillian J Haszard ◽  
Kim Meredith-Jones ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background Intermittent fasting (IF) and Paleolithic (Paleo) diets produce weight loss in controlled trials, but minimal evidence exists regarding long-term efficacy under free-living conditions without intense dietetic support. Objectives This exploratory, observational analysis examined adherence, dietary intake, weight loss, and metabolic outcomes in overweight adults who could choose to follow Mediterranean, IF, or Paleo diets, and standard exercise or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) programs, as part of a 12-mo randomized controlled trial investigating how different monitoring strategies influenced weight loss (control, daily self-weighing, hunger training, diet/exercise app, brief support). Methods A total of 250 overweight [BMI (in kg/m2) ≥27] healthy adults attended an individualized dietary education session (30 min) relevant to their self-selected diet. Dietary intake (3-d weighed diet records), weight, body composition, blood pressure, physical activity (0, 6, and 12 mo), and blood indexes (0 and 12 mo) were assessed. Mean (95% CI) changes from baseline were estimated using regression models. No correction was made for multiple tests. Results Although 54.4% chose IF, 27.2% Mediterranean, and 18.4% Paleo diets originally, only 54% (IF), 57% (Mediterranean), and 35% (Paleo) participants were still following their chosen diet at 12 mo (self-reported). At 12 mo, weight loss was −4.0 kg (95% CI: −5.1, −2.8 kg) in IF, −2.8 kg (−4.4, −1.2 kg) in Mediterranean, and −1.8 kg (−4.0, 0.5 kg) in Paleo participants. Sensitivity analyses showed that, due to substantial dropout, these may be overestimated by ≤1.2 kg, whereas diet adherence increased mean weight loss by 1.1, 1.8, and 0.3 kg, respectively. Reduced systolic blood pressure was observed with IF (−4.9 mm Hg;  −7.2, −2.6 mm Hg) and Mediterranean (−5.9 mm Hg; −9.0, −2.7 mm Hg) diets, and reduced glycated hemoglobin with the Mediterranean diet (−0.8 mmol/mol; −1.2, −0.4 mmol/mol). However, the between-group differences in most outcomes were not significant and these comparisons may be confounded due to the nonrandomized design. Conclusions Small differences in metabolic outcomes were apparent in participants following self-selected diets without intensive ongoing dietary support, even though dietary adherence declined rapidly. However, results should be interpreted with caution given the exploratory nature of analyses. This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12615000010594 at https://www.anzctr.org.au.


2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 945-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romeo B. Batacan ◽  
Mitch J. Duncan ◽  
Vincent J. Dalbo ◽  
Kylie J. Connolly ◽  
Andrew S. Fenning

Physical activity has the potential to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors but evaluation of different intensities of physical activity and the mechanisms behind their health effects still need to be fully established. This study examined the effects of sedentary behaviour, light-intensity training, and high-intensity interval training on biometric indices, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, and vascular and cardiac function in adult rats. Rats (12 weeks old) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: control (CTL; no exercise), sedentary (SED; no exercise and housed in small cages to reduce activity), light-intensity trained (LIT; four 30-min exercise bouts/day at 8 m/min separated by 2-h rest period, 5 days/week), and high-intensity interval trained (HIIT, four 2.5-min work bouts/day at 50 m/min separated by 3-min rest periods, 5 days/week). After 12 weeks of intervention, SED had greater visceral fat accumulation (p < 0.01) and slower cardiac conduction (p = 0.04) compared with the CTL group. LIT and HIIT demonstrated beneficial changes in body weight, visceral and epididymal fat weight, glucose regulation, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and mesenteric vessel contractile response compared with the CTL group (p < 0.05). LIT had significant improvements in insulin sensitivity and cardiac conduction compared with the CTL and SED groups whilst HIIT had significant improvements in systolic blood pressure and endothelium-independent vasodilation to aorta and mesenteric artery compared with the CTL group (p < 0.05). LIT and HIIT induce health benefits by improving traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. LIT improves cardiac health while HIIT promotes improvements in vascular health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 00025
Author(s):  
Artem Moment ◽  
Viktor Nemerovsky ◽  
Elena Karpenko ◽  
Lena Rubenkova ◽  
Aleksey Nikitin

Epidemiological surveys reflect a negative trend in functional indicators for children’s physical health. In recent surveys it is experimentally proved that unlike other methods of training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) produces prevailing positive effect onto the indicators of physical and functional condition of children with poor health. However, the review of studies suggests that the stated idea turns to be controversial. There is the evidence of possible negative effects of intense physical activity due to the low level biological reliability of adaptation mechanisms and other anatomical and physiological characteristics of children. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a scientifically based conceptual model of timeline for children’s health training in which the central health impetus will be HIIT.


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