ORIGINAL PAPER
Socioeconomic status and baseline physical activity do not moderate the effects of interval training interventions delivered in physical education lessons: results from the Wroclaw peer-heart study
1
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
Submission date: 2026-02-13
Acceptance date: 2026-04-30
Online publication date: 2026-06-02
Corresponding author
Dawid Koźlenia
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I.J. Paderewskiego 35, 51‑612 Wroclaw, Poland
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I.J. Paderewskiego 35, 51‑612 Wroclaw, Poland
KEYWORDS
adolescentphysical education and trainingphysical fitnessbody compositionblood pressureschoolspublic health
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
The study examined whether socioeconomic status (SES) and baseline leisure-time physical activity moderate the health effects of high-intensity interval-based interventions delivered during regular physical education lessons in adolescents.
Methods:
Either high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or high-intensity plyometric training (HIPT) during physical education classes over eight weeks, each with a control group. A total of 307 adolescents completed assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Outcomes included body fat percentage, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), and cardiorespiratory fitness expressed as VO2max. Socioeconomic status was assessed using the Family Affluence Scale, and baseline physical activity was evaluated via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.
Results:
In the HIIT intervention, significant reductions were observed in body fat percentage (β = –1.40, p < 0.001) and SBP (β = –2.49 mm Hg, p = 0.002), along with a significant increase in VO2max (β = +2.94 ml · kg–1 · min–1, p < 0.001) compared with the control group. No significant effect was found for DBP (p = 0.603). In the HIPT intervention, body fat percentage (β = –1.97, p < 0.001) and SBP (β = –3.37 mm Hg, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced, whereas changes in DBP (p = 0.078) and VO2max (p = 0.298) were not statistically significant. Across both schools, neither socioeconomic status nor baseline physical activity moderated intervention effects for any outcome (all interactions p > 0.05). Baseline values of the respective outcomes were the strongest predictors of post-intervention results (all p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Both high-intensity physical education interventions improve selected health indicators in adolescents independently of socioeconomic status and baseline physical activity, supporting their use as equitable, population-level public health strategies.
The study examined whether socioeconomic status (SES) and baseline leisure-time physical activity moderate the health effects of high-intensity interval-based interventions delivered during regular physical education lessons in adolescents.
Methods:
Either high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or high-intensity plyometric training (HIPT) during physical education classes over eight weeks, each with a control group. A total of 307 adolescents completed assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Outcomes included body fat percentage, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), and cardiorespiratory fitness expressed as VO2max. Socioeconomic status was assessed using the Family Affluence Scale, and baseline physical activity was evaluated via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.
Results:
In the HIIT intervention, significant reductions were observed in body fat percentage (β = –1.40, p < 0.001) and SBP (β = –2.49 mm Hg, p = 0.002), along with a significant increase in VO2max (β = +2.94 ml · kg–1 · min–1, p < 0.001) compared with the control group. No significant effect was found for DBP (p = 0.603). In the HIPT intervention, body fat percentage (β = –1.97, p < 0.001) and SBP (β = –3.37 mm Hg, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced, whereas changes in DBP (p = 0.078) and VO2max (p = 0.298) were not statistically significant. Across both schools, neither socioeconomic status nor baseline physical activity moderated intervention effects for any outcome (all interactions p > 0.05). Baseline values of the respective outcomes were the strongest predictors of post-intervention results (all p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Both high-intensity physical education interventions improve selected health indicators in adolescents independently of socioeconomic status and baseline physical activity, supporting their use as equitable, population-level public health strategies.
REFERENCES (40)
1.
Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020;4(1):23–35; doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30323-2.
2.
McAvoy CR, Batrakoulis A, Camhi SM, Sansone JS, Stanfield JT, Reed R, International Contributors. 2026 ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends: Future Directions of the Health and Fitness Industry. ACSM Health Fit J. 2025;29(6):16–33; doi: 10.1249/fit.0000000000001110.
3.
Jiménez-Pavón D, Konstabel K, Bergman P, Ahrens W, Pohlabeln H, Hadjigeorgiou C, Siani A, Iacoviello L, Molnár D, De Henauw S, Pitsiladis Y, Moreno LA. Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular disease risk factors in young children: a cross-sectional study: the IDEFICS study. BMC Med. 2013;11:172; doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-172.
4.
Hallal PC, Andersen LB, Bull FC, Guthold R, Haskell W, Ekelund U. Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects. Lancet. 2012;380(9838):247–57; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60646-1.
5.
Sallis JF, Floyd MF, Rodríguez DA, Saelens BE. Role of built environments in physical activity, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 2012;125(5):729–37; doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.969022.
6.
Hollis JL, Sutherland R, Williams AJ, Campbell E, Nathan N, Wolfenden L, Morgan PJ, Lubans DR, Gillham K, Wiggers J. A systematic review and meta-analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels in secondary school physical education lessons. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017;14(1):52; doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0504-0.
7.
Fairclough S, Stratton G. Physical education makes you fit and healthy: physical education’s contribution to young people’s physical activity levels. Health Educ Res. 2005;20(1):14–23; doi: 10.1093/her/cyg101.
8.
Tanveer M, Cai Y, Badicu G, Asghar E, Batrakoulis A, Ardigò LP, Brand S. Associations of 24-h movement behaviour with overweight and obesity among school-aged children and adolescents in Pakistan: an empirical cross-sectional study. Pediatr Obes. 2025;20(5):e13208; doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13208.
9.
Domaradzki J, Koźlenia D, Popowczak M. The mediation role of fatness in associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and blood pressure after high-intensity interval training in adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(3):1698; doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031698.
10.
Domaradzki J, Koźlenia D, Popowczak M. The relative importance of age at peak height velocity and fat mass index in high-intensity interval training effect on cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial. Children. 2022;9(10):1554; doi: 10.3390/children9101554.
11.
Koźlenia D, Popowczak M, Szafraniec R, Alvarez C, Domaradzki J. Changes in muscle mass and strength in adolescents following high-intensity functional training with bodyweight resistance exercises in physical education lessons. J Clin Med. 2024;13(12):3400; doi: 10.3390/jcm13123400.
12.
Tanveer M, Asghar E, Tanveer U, Roy N, Zeba A, Al-Mhanna SB, Ma X, Batrakoulis A. Association of nutrition behavior and food intake with overweight and obesity among school-aged children and adolescents in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. AIMS Public Health. 2024;11(3):803–18; doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2024040.
13.
Song Y, Lan H. The effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic health in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci Med. 2024;23(4):690–706; doi: 10.52082/jssm.2024.690.
14.
Marmot M, Bell R. Fair society, healthy lives. Public Health. 2012;126 Suppl 1:4–10; doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.05.014.
15.
Elgar FJ, Pförtner TK, Moor I, De Clercq B, Stevens GWJM, Currie C. Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health 2002-2010: a time-series analysis of 34 countries participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. Lancet. 2015;385(9982):2088–95; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61460-4.
16.
Inchley JC, Stevens GWJM, Samdal O, Currie DB. Enhancing understanding of adolescent health and well-being: the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study. J Adolesc Health. 2020;66(6; Suppl):3–5; doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.03.014.
17.
Stalsberg R, Pedersen AV. Effects of socioeconomic status on physical activity in adolescents: a systematic review of the evidence. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010;20(3):368–83; doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01047.x.
18.
Walsh JJ, Bonafiglia JT, Goldfield GS, Sigal RJ, Kenny GP, Doucette S, Hadjiyannakis S, Alberga AS, Prud’homme D, Gurd BJ. Interindividual variability and individual responses to exercise training in adolescents with obesity. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2020;45(1):45–54; doi: 10.1139/apnm-2019-0088.
19.
Belanger MJ, Rao P, Robbins JM. Exercise, physical activity, and cardiometabolic health: pathophysiologic insights. Cardiol Rev. 2022;30(3):134–44; doi: 10.1097/CRD.0000000000000417.
20.
Lorenc T, Petticrew M, Welch V, Tugwell P. What types of interventions generate inequalities? Evidence from systematic reviews. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2013;67(2):190–93; doi: 10.1136/jech-2012-201257.
21.
Domaradzki J, Popowczak M, Kochan-Jacheć K, Szkudlarek P, Murawska-Ciałowicz E, Koźlenia D. Effects of two forms of school-based high-intensity interval training on body fat, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents: randomized control trial with eight-week follow-up – the PEER-HEART study. Front Physiol. 2025;16:1530195; doi:10.3389/fphys.2025.1530195.
22.
Marfell-Jones M, Olds T, Stewart A, Carter L. International standards for anthropometric assessment. Potchefstroom: International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry; 2006.
23.
Ramírez-Vélez R, Correa-Bautista JE, Martínez-Torres J, González-Ruíz K, González-Jiménez E, Schmidt-RioValle J, Garcia-Hermoso A. Performance of two bioelectrical impedance analyses in the diagnosis of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents: the FUPRECOL study. Nutrients. 2016;8(10):575; doi: 10.3390/nu8100575.
24.
Nasir K, Ziffer JA, Cainzos-Achirica M, Ali SS, Feldman DI, Arias L, Saxena A, Feldman T, Cury R, Budoff MJ, Fialkow J. The Miami Heart Study (MiHeart) at Baptist Health South Florida: a prospective study of subclinical cardiovascular disease and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in asymptomatic young and middle-aged adults. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2021;7:100202; doi: 10.1016/j.ajpc.2021.100202.
25.
Ramsbottom R, Brewer J, Williams C. A progressive shuttle run test to estimate maximal oxygen uptake. Br J Sports Med. 1988;22(4):141–44; doi: 10.1136/bjsm.22.4.141.
26.
Jurik R, Stastny P, Kolinger D, Vetrovsky T, Novak J, Kobesova A, Krzysztofik M, Busch A. Changes of abdominal wall tension across various resistance exercises during maximal and submaximal loads in healthy adults: a cross-sectional study. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2025;17(1):114; doi:10.1186/s13102-025-01161-y.
27.
Torsheim T, Cavallo F, Levin KA, Schnohr C, Mazur J, Niclasen B, Currie C; FAS Development Study Group. Psychometric validation of the revised Family Affluence Scale: a latent variable approach. Child Indic Res. 2016;9:771–84; doi: 10.1007/s12187-015-9339-x.
28.
Mazur J. Family Affluence Scale – validation study and suggested modification [in Polish]. Hygeia Public Health. 2013;48(2):211–17.
29.
Hagströmer M, Oja P, Sjöström M. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire: a study of concurrent and construct validity. Public Health Nutr. 2006;9(6):755–62; doi: 10.1079/PHN2005898.
30.
Costigan SA, Eather N, Plotnikoff RC, Taaffe DR, Lubans DR. High-intensity interval training for improving health-related fitness in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(19):1253–61; doi:10.1136/bjsports-2014-094490.
31.
Buchan DS, Ollis S, Young JD, Cooper SM, Shield JPH, Baker JS. High-intensity interval running enhances measures of physical fitness but not metabolic measures of cardiovascular disease risk in healthy adolescents. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:498; doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-498.
32.
Tanveer M, Asghar E, Badicu G, Tanveer U, Roy N, Zeba A, Al-Mhanna SB, Batrakoulis A. Associations of school-level factors and school sport facility parameters with overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Pakistan: an empirical cross-sectional study. Sports. 2024;12(9):235; doi: 10.3390/sports12090235.
33.
Weston KS, Wisløff U, Coombes JS. High-intensity interval training in patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(16):1227–34; doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092576.
34.
Eddolls WTB, McNarry MA, Stratton G, Winn CON, Mackintosh KA. High-intensity interval training interventions in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Sports Med. 2017;47(11):2363–74; doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0753-8.
35.
Jurik R, Stastny P, Kolinger D, Gola A, Vetrovsky T. Blood pressure changes during different methods of resistance training in normotensive and stage 1 hypertensive individuals: a repeated measures cross-sectional study. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2025;17(1):49; doi: 10.1186/s13102-025-01097-3.
36.
Haataja H, Leppä M, Huhtiniemi M, Nedelec R, Soini T, Jaakkola T, Niemelä M, Tammelin T, Kantomaa M. Social inequalities in the effects of school-based well-being interventions: a systematic review. Eur J Public Health. 2025;35(2):302–311; doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaf005.
37.
Owen MB, Curry WB, Kerner C, Newson L, Fairclough SJ. The effectiveness of school-based physical activity interventions for adolescent girls: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Prev Med. 2017;105:237–49; doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.09.018.
38.
Tanveer M, Batrakoulis A, Asghar E, Hohmann A, Brand S, de Sousa Fernandes MS, Ardigò LP, Badicu G. Association of sleep duration with overweight and obesity among school-aged children and adolescents in Pakistan: an empirical cross-sectional study. J Educ Health Promot. 2025;14:43; doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_1453_24.
39.
Atkinson G, Batterham AM. True and false interindividual differences in the physiological response to an intervention. Exp Physiol. 2015;100(6):577–88; doi: 10.1113/EP085070.
40.
Bonafiglia JT, Ross R, Gurd BJ. The application of repeated testing and monoexponential regressions to classify individual cardiorespiratory fitness responses to exercise training. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2019;119(4):889–900; doi: 10.1007/s00421-019-04078-w.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 1899-1955 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
