The Mediation Role of Fatness in Associations between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Blood Pressure after High-Intensity Interval Training in Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), elevated blood pressure (BP), and high fatness are cardiovascular disease risk factors. It remains unknown how fatness affects the influence of CRF on BP. Therefore, the aim was to examine whether the associations between baseline CRF and HIIT-postintervention resting BP were mediated through fatness in adolescents.

Material and methods: The sample (n = 64) comprised 28 boys 36 girls aged 16 years. The analysed factors were fitness index- reflecting CRF, body fat mass (BFM), fat mass index (FMI), and body mass index (BMI). Bootstrapped mediation procedures were performed. The mediation analysis was conducted concerning the sex moderation effect.

Results: The mediation effect of sex was confirmed; therefore, mediations models were designed separately for boys and girls. The results showed a statistically significant inverse relationship between baseline CRF and post-intervention systolic blood pressure (SBP) in both sexes (boys: B = -0.603, p = 0.010; girls: B = -0.394, p = 0.037). The relations between CRF and SBP revealed the mediation effect of the BFM and the FMI only in boys.

Conclusions: Fatness mediated associations between CRF and SBP in boys. Therefore, both CRF and fatness are necessary to maintain positive results of the BP revealed in normal SBP ranges after HIIT.

Keywords: Tabata protocol; adolescents; blood pressure; body fat; cardiorespiratory fitness; high-intensity interval training; mediation analysis; physical education lessons.

Figure 1

Hypothesized mediation model: an indirect effect of preintervention cardiorespiratory fitness (CRFbaseline) (paths: ab) on blood pressure after intervention (SBPpost, DBPpost), through preintervention fatness (BFMbaseline, FMIbaseline, BMIbaseline) mediation (paths a and b), a direct effect of baseline CRF on SBP and DBP (path c’) and the total effect (path c) of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Figure 2

Hypothesized moderation model of potential effects of sex (moderator) on the relationship between CRF and BP through FAT (mediator). Numbers indicate effects of moderation on mediation model’s elements: 1—sex on indirect influence of CRF on BP, 2—sex on the component: CRF effect on FAT (BFM, FMI, BMI), 3—sex on the component: FAT (BFM, FMI, BMI) effect on BP. Letters indicate effects of mediation: c’—direct effect, a—path an of indirect impact, b—path b of indirect impact.