Reprinted from Eating Disorders Review
March/April 1999 Volume 10, Number 2
©1999 Gürze Books
Increasing physical activity without changing the diet can improve an obese child’s body composition and reduce his or her risk for diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, according to pediatricians at the Medical College of Georgia.
In a 4-month program, 74 obese children 7 to 11 years of age were randomly assigned to physical training for 5 days a week (12 boys, 23 girls) or to a control group (13 boys, 26 girls) (Med Sci Sports Exerc 31:143, 1999). A typical training session included 20 minutes of exercising on treadmills or stationary bikes, or using a trampoline. The children were given a $1 incentive for each session they attended and earned points for maintaining target heart rates above 150 beats/minute (70% to 75% of the maximal heart rate for this age group).
Total energy was calculated from metabolic equivalents (METS). Total body mass, total body fat mass, visceral adipose tissue, total body fat-free mass, and percentage of body fat were measured with magnetic resonance imaging (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry). The intensity and duration of exercise was recorded at 7-day recall interviews with the child.
Exercise helped curtail body fat
At the end of 5 weeks, the percentage of body fat fell by 2.2% and total subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue was 16% less among children who exercised compared with controls. Visceral adipose tissue increase was significantly lower in the exercise group.
