Education and Fitness: EDUFIT Study
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
EDUFIT is a group-Randomized Controlled Trial specifically designed to enhance physical fitness and other health-related factors in a school setting in adolescents.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
Physical fitness is a powerful marker of cardiovascular health already at early stages in life. To promote physical fitness enhancement from the school is therefore needed and this is the main aim of the EDUFIT study (EDUcation for FITness).
The participants were randomly allocated to control group (CG), experimental group 1 (EG1) and experimental group 2 (EG2). The CG received 2 physical education sessions/week, the EG1 received 4 physical education sessions/week (volume increased) and the EG2 received 4 physical education sessions/week of high intensity (volume+intensity increased). Several health-related parameters were assessed before and after a 16-weeks intervention: physical fitness (primary outcome), body composition (secondary), and lipid-metabolic profile, ventilatory parameters, blood pressure, and cognitive and academic performance (tertiary outcomes).
The hypothesis of the EDUFIT project was that to double the number of physical education classes will improve physical fitness in adolescents. The confirmation of the hypothesis could have important public health implications.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| No Intervention: Normal PE 2 Physical Education sessions / week |
|
| Experimental: PE Volume 4 Physical Education sessions/week (increased volume) |
Behavioral: Physical activity program
School intervention program specifically designed to increase health-related physical fitness
|
| Experimental: PE Volume + Intensity 4 Physical Education sessions/week of high intensity (increased volume and intensity) |
Behavioral: Physical activity program
School intervention program specifically designed to increase health-related physical fitness
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Health-related physical fitness [4 months]
Cardiorespiratory fitness; musculoskeletal fitness; motor fitness.
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Cardiovascular disease risk factors [4 months]
Body composition; lipid-metabolic profile; blood pressure; ventilatory parameters.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adolescents enrolled in the Spanish Educational System, free of any muscle-skeletal problem not allowing take part in Physical Education lessons or fitness testing.
Exclusion Criteria:
-
Clinical diagnosis of diabetes
-
Pregnancy
-
Drugs/alcohol abuse
-
In general, any chronic disease that does not permit the person to perform exercise and physical education lessons.
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IES Alcántara (Consejería de Educación, Formación y Empleo de la Región de Murcia) | Alcantarilla | Murcia | Spain | 30820 |
| 2 | University of Granada | Granada | Spain | 18071 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Universidad de Granada
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Francisco B Ortega Porcel, PhD, University of Granada (Spain)
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Additional Information:
- Official website of the HELENA Study, an European-funded project in which this research group is actively involved
- Official website of the EFFECTS-262 Research Group (University of Granada, Spain)
- The PrevNut Research Group at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Publications
- Ortega FB, Artero EG, Ruiz JR, España-Romero V, Jiménez-Pavón D, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Moreno LA, Manios Y, Béghin L, Ottevaere C, Ciarapica D, Sarri K, Dietrich S, Blair SN, Kersting M, Molnar D, González-Gross M, Gutiérrez A, Sjöström M, Castillo MJ; HELENA study. Physical fitness levels among European adolescents: the HELENA study. Br J Sports Med. 2011 Jan;45(1):20-9. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.062679. Epub 2009 Aug 20.
- Ortega FB, Artero EG, Ruiz JR, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Bergman P, Hagströmer M, Ottevaere C, Nagy E, Konsta O, Rey-López JP, Polito A, Dietrich S, Plada M, Béghin L, Manios Y, Sjöström M, Castillo MJ; HELENA Study Group. Reliability of health-related physical fitness tests in European adolescents. The HELENA Study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Nov;32 Suppl 5:S49-57. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2008.183.
- Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Castillo MJ, Moreno LA, González-Gross M, Wärnberg J, Gutiérrez A; Grupo AVENA. [Low level of physical fitness in Spanish adolescents. Relevance for future cardiovascular health (AVENA study)]. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2005 Aug;58(8):898-909. Spanish.
- Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Castillo MJ, Sjöström M. Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Jan;32(1):1-11. Epub 2007 Dec 4. Review.
- Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Hurtig-Wennlöf A, Sjöström M. [Physically active adolescents are more likely to have a healthier cardiovascular fitness level independently of their adiposity status. The European youth heart study]. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2008 Feb;61(2):123-9. Spanish.
- Ruiz JR, Castro-Piñero J, Artero EG, Ortega FB, Sjöström M, Suni J, Castillo MJ. Predictive validity of health-related fitness in youth: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2009 Dec;43(12):909-23. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2008.056499. Epub 2009 Jan 21. Review.
- EDUFIT