Vigorous activity key to curbing childhood obesity
16 October 2009
A study of the relationship between childhood obesity and activity levels has found that the more time both boys and girls spend being sedentary the more body fat they carry. It also demonstrated that activity of moderate and vigorous intensity is beneficial even for children who spend a lot of sedentary time sitting in front of screens or playing computer games.
The study was led by Dr Ulf Ekelund at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge in collaboration with colleagues at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
More than 1,800 healthy nine to ten year old schoolchildren from schools participated in the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical Activity and Eating behavior, Environmental Determinants in Young people) study. Children had height, weight, body mass index and body fat level measurements taken and wore a monitor that measured physical activity levels over a 7 day period. The study compared sedentary time and levels of moderate and vigorous activity in boys and girls, and the effect that these activities had on their weight.
Dr Ulf Ekelund of the MRC Epidemiology Unit explains:
‘‘Burgeoning childhood obesity represents a major public health concern, and an imbalance between calorie consumption and physical activity is the main cause. Our study results highlight the importance of moderate and vigorous physical activity in helping children to maintain a healthy body weight as these types of activities were more strongly associated with body fat than sedentary time.
However, we cannot conclude that physical activity prevents unhealthy weight gain because children who are already overweight may be less likely to participate in more vigorous activities. Although sedentary time may contribute to obesity in children, more strenuous activity may be needed to curb childhood obesity.’’
The results are published in the November 2009 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers conclude that advice from health professionals and public health agencies may need to incorporate higher intensity-based activities to help curb the growing obesity epidemic, especially in young people.
Original research paper: Targeting sedentary time or moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity: independent relations with adiposity in a population-based sample of 10-y-old British children is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009; 90:1185-92.
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