Participants in the study were adolescent school children (64 boys, 25 girls, 16.7 ± 0.6 years). The
intervention group (30 boys, 12 girls) performed three weekly exercise sessions over 7 weeks with each session
consisting of either four to six repeats of maximal sprint running within a 20 m area with 30 s recovery. The control
group were instructed to continue their normal behaviour. All participants had indices of obesity, blood pressure
and nine biochemical risk markers for cardiovascular disease recorded as well as four physical performance
measures at baseline and post-intervention. Feedback was provided through informal discussion throughout the
intervention period as well as post-intervention focus groups. Statistical differences between and within groups
were determined by use of paired samples t-tests and ANCOVA