Obese children playing towards an active lifestyle.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether five months of guided active play in overweight or obese children and adolescents under multi-disciplinary management for weight reduction leads to increased physical activity levels in leisure time, as well as changes in aerobic fitness and body composition.


METHODS
Sixty overweight or obese children and adolescents were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. All participants received dietary advice and were encouraged to increase physical activity level. The intervention group additionally participated in 60-minute guided active play/physical activity twice a week for 5 months. Physical activity was recorded; aerobic fitness and body composition were measured at inclusion and after cessation of intervention.


RESULTS
Physical activity level during weekend days was significantly higher for the intervention group compared with the controls after 5 months intervention (p=0.04). The mean reduction in percentage of body fat was 1.8% (95%CI: 0.6, 3.1) in the intervention group (p=0.04) and not significant among the controls (0.9 [-0.9, 2.7]). There was no change in aerobic fitness.


CONCLUSIONS
Five months of guided active play was associated with increased physical activity levels during weekend days and reduced body fat, although weakly, in overweight and obese children and adolescents participating in multi-disciplinary weight reduction programmes.
Department of Paediatrics, Woman and Child division, Ullevål University Hospital, 0806 Oslo, Norway. sveinung.berntsen@nih.no
Sveinung
S
Berntsen
Petter
P
Mowinckel
Kai-Håkon
KH
Carlsen
Karin C
KC
Lødrup Carlsen
Magnhild L
ML
Pollestad Kolsgaard
Geir
G
Joner
Sigmund A
SA
Anderssen
D000293:Adolescent; D001823:Body Composition; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009664:Norway; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010809:Physical Fitness; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome