Outcome of an exercise and educational intervention for children who are overweight

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of an education- and exercise-based intervention for children who are overweight.

Methods: Forty-one children with a mean age of 10.5 years participated in the study. The eight-week intervention, scheduled twice weekly, included education and exercise components. Outcome measures included body mass index (BMI), waist and hip girth, blood pressure (BP), resting heart rate (RHR), immediate postexercise heart rate (HRfinish), five-minute recovery heart rate (5minHR), and distance walked in six minutes. Using a repeated-measures design, data were collected twice prior to intervention to determine baseline and once upon completion of the intervention.

Results: No significant difference existed between pretest I and II measures for each dependent variable, indicating a stable baseline. An intervention effect was established as evidenced by significant improvement in BMI, waist and hip girth, BP, RHR, HRfinish, and 5minHR at posttest.

Conclusions: Children who are overweight and participate in an eight week exercise and educational program demonstrate improved morphology and physical conditioning.