Effects of a physical education-based programme on health-related physical fitness and its maintenance in high school students: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a physical education-based development and maintenance programme on objective and perceived health-related physical fitness in high school students. A sample of 111 students aged 12-14 years old from six classes were cluster-randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 54) or a control group (n = 57). During the physical education classes, the experimental group students performed a development programme twice a week for nine weeks. Then, after a four-week period of detraining, the experimental group students completed a maintenance programme twice a week for eight weeks. Students' objective cardiorespiratory fitness (20-meter shuttle run test), objective muscular fitness (flexion-extension legs test), and perceived physical fitness (International Fitness Scale and the Contour Drawing Rating Scale) were measured at the beginning and at the end of the development programme, as well as at the end of the maintenance programme. The results of the two-way analyses of variance showed that the physical education-based development programme significantly increased the students' objective physical fitness levels, and that these gains obtained remained after the maintenance programme (p < 0.01). However, the intervention programme did not show an influence on the students' perceived physical fitness (p > 0.05). The physical education-based intervention programme was effective in increasing and maintaining objective physical fitness among high school students. This knowledge could help teachers to design programmes that permit a feasible and effective development and maintenance of health-related physical fitness in a physical education setting.