Abstract

Purpose. - To compare the prevalence of non-responders in two school-based intervention programs that differ in terms of intensity in physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors in children. Summary of facts and results. - A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 38 boys and girls aged 6 to 11 years. Children were divided into a group submitted to moderate-to-high- intensity (MHI, n = 21) intervention and a group that performed low-to-moderate-intensity (LMI, n = 17) physical activity. Both interventions lasted for 21 weeks, with sessions held twice a week. The MHI group participated in physical exercise sessions aimed at improving physical fitness, in which children should achieve more than 75% of their heart rate, along with a nutritional intervention. The LMI group engaged in physical education classes based on the National Common Curricular Base. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), agility, speed, lower limb strength (LLS), LDL-c, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and waist circumference (WC) were assessed before and after the interventions. Results indicated a higher prevalence of non-responders in CRF in the LMI group (LMI: 76.99%; HMI: 21.1%, OR = 1.46, IC95% 1.19-1.78), and WC (HMI: 57.9%; LMI: 92.3%, OR = 1.21, IC95% 1.03-1.42). In conclusion, well-planned physical education classes with moderate-to-high intensity can be implemented at the school level and have the potential to promote children's health. (c) 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.