Participants

18 apparently healthy young males, selected among students of high class from two secondary schools in the city of Dahmani (Tunisia), volunteered for this study. Individuals with acute or chronic disease, those under medication, those consuming tobacco or alcohol, and trained athletes were excluded. A medical examination of each participant was done prior to inclusion revealing no contra-indications for physical exercise. Participants' habitual level of physical activity before/during the study consisted of 2 h of physical education lessons. Participants were divided based on BMI in a normal-weight group (NWG; BMI < 25 kg/m²; age, 18.1 ± 0.93 years; n = 9) and an overweight/obese group (OG; BMI > 25 kg/m²; age, 18.3 ± 1.22 years; n = 9). Participants followed a HIIT program, 3 times a week for 2 months. All participants conducted 24 training sessions. Failure to attend one or more sessions was caught in the same or the following week. Participants were instructed to maintain their usual eating habits during the training program. The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Scientific and Ethics Committee of High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Kef. Participants gave written informed consent to participate in the study.