{
  "abstract": "To investigate the effects of an 8-week school-based high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, negative affect, and self-efficacy in adolescents with obesity, and to explore whether self-efficacy statistically mediates the association between HIIT and negative affect. In this two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial, 55 adolescents with obesity (age 13.55 ± 1.21 years; BMI 29.58 ± 3.54 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (HIIT, n = 27) or a control group (regular physical education, n = 28). Body composition, estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max), negative affect (PANAS), and self-efficacy (GSES) were assessed before and after the 8-week intervention. The primary analyses were analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) with the post-intervention value as the dependent variable, group as the fixed factor, and the corresponding baseline value as the covariate; two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs (group×time) served as sensitivity analyses. An exploratory mediation analysis with 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap resamples adjusted for baseline mediator, baseline outcome, sex, and age. After adjustment for baseline values, the experimental group showed significantly lower post-intervention negative affect than the control group (adjusted difference -3.72, 95% CI [-4.81, -2.63], p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.475) and significantly higher self-efficacy (adjusted difference 1.06, 95% CI [0.60, 1.53], p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.290). Body weight, BMI, visceral fat mass, subcutaneous fat mass, body fat percentage, and fat mass were also significantly lower in the experimental group (all p < 0.001), and estimated VO₂max was higher (adjusted difference 1.54 mL/kg/min, 95% CI [0.86, 2.22], p < 0.001); the latter effect was attenuated but remained significant when post-intervention estimated VO₂max was recomputed with baseline BMI held constant (0.50, 95% CI [0.03, 0.98], p = 0.040), and was corroborated by the BMI-free 20-m shuttle-run lap count (p = 0.004). The exploratory mediation analysis did not support an indirect effect through self-efficacy (a × b = 0.09, bootstrap 95% CI [-0.75, 0.82]). Eight weeks of school-based HIIT improved body composition and estimated cardiorespiratory fitness, reduced negative affect, and enhanced self-efficacy in adolescents with obesity. The indirect effect through self-efficacy was not statistically supported after baseline adjustment; because the mediator and the outcome were measured concurrently, temporal ordering cannot be established, and the mediating role of self-efficacy remains an open question for longitudinal research.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Physical Education, Henan University, Kaifeng, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shihao Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chang Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yali Xu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8dsgvx4aadte6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fped.2026.1977400",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13713504",
  "id": "8dsgvx4aadte6",
  "issns": [
    "2296-2360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952846",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2737|Physical Activity and Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221774729",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13713504?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13713504",
  "pmid": "42952846",
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8dsgvx4aadte6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:41Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42952846",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952846"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:24:02Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13713504",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1977400"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2737|Physical Activity and Health",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of high-intensity interval training on negative affect in adolescents with obesity: an exploratory analysis of the role of self-efficacy.",
  "title_text": "Effects of high-intensity interval training on negative affect in adolescents with obesity: an exploratory analysis of the role of self-efficacy.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8dsgvx4aadte6",
  "venue": "Frontiers in pediatrics",
  "versions": []
}