Cardiometabolic Benefit Of A Family-Oriented Exercise And Nutrition Intervention On Overweight And Obese Children

Document Type

Conference Presentation

Department

Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences Department

Conference Title

American College of Sports Medicine - Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise conference

Organization

American College of Sports Medicine

Location

Virtual

Date of Presentation

5-27-2020

Journal Publication

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

ISSN

0195-9131

DOI

10.1249/01.mss.0000677216.69753.08

Volume

52

Issue

7S

First Page

330

Abstract

One third of U.S. children are overweight or obese. Without intervention, they experience an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as adults. Poor blood glucose and lipid profiles are indicators of adult onset, and early intervention can reduce the likelihood of future diagnosis. Thus, it is important to identify programs capable of improving these parameters in at-risk children. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of a family-oriented exercise and nutrition intervention on blood glucose and lipid profiles in overweight and obese children. METHODS: 12 children (age 7-16 yr) were referred to a weight loss intervention by their primary care physician; 6 males and 3 females completed the program. They performed biweekly sessions of structured exercise (45 min) and nutritional counseling (30 min) for 18 weeks. At baseline and follow-up, blood samples were drawn, measuring triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and blood glucose (BG). Paired-samples t-tests compared pre to post differences in these variables. RESULTS: At baseline, subjects were 12.3±2.4 years old with a body mass index of 29.8±4.5 kg/m2. Blood samples revealed TG of 118.4±50.1 mg/dL, TC of 172.0±21.2 mg/dL, HDL of 52.6±10.2 mg/dL, LDL of 97.8±24.9 mg/dL, and BG of 117.25±5.4 mg/dL. From baseline to follow-up, non-significant improvements were detected in TG (p=0.104), TC (p=0.085), and LDL (p=0.132). Significant changes were detected in HDL (increased 6.8±2.2 mg/dL, corresponding to a 13.1% improvement; p=0.009) and BG (decreased 17.7±5.0 mg/dL, 14.8% improvement; p=0.026). CONCLUSION: Despite the absence of external incentives, the program’s retention was 75% over 18 weeks. Children who completed the full duration of exercise training and nutritional counseling experienced significant improvements in HDL and BG. These findings support the growing evidence that earlier cardiometabolic interventions are warranted.

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