[Effect of therapeutic exercise on physical fitness in a school health program for obese children].

The objectives of this study were to determined characteristics of physical fitness in obese children, and to examine the effect of a diet-exercise program, developed in our laboratory, on the physical fitness of these children. To accomplish the first objective, a physical fitness test consisting of 11 items was administered on 126 obese and normal weight children (boys 83, girls 43) matched for age, sex, and stature. The children, 9-10 years of age, were pupils from 11 public elementary schools in Morioka, Iwate, Japan. To accomplish the second objective, 92 obese children participated in a study. The children were divided into experimental and control groups. Children in the experimental group (n = 50) participated in a diet-exercise program for three months, while children in the control group (n = 42) were left alone without taking part in the program. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. The obese children were found to be significantly inferior to the normal-weight children in fitness items such as standing long jump, pull-ups, sit-ups, step test, and total fitness scores. While no differences in lying trunk extension and standing trunk flexion for body flexibility were observed, the obese children were found to be superior to the normal weight children in static strength such as grip and back strengths. 2. The poor physical fitness of the obese children was found to be negatively affected by their excess body fat, rather than body weight, and that this trend was more pronounced for boys than for girls. 3. The intervention study clearly demonstrated that children in the experimental group improved in physical fitness for most items, especially in abdominal muscle endurance, aerobic capacity, and total physical fitness. 4. It was shown that the diet-exercise program, which comprised guidance on physical exercise and individual nutrition counseling was very useful, because the participants should decrease a considerable in percent overweight and body fat, but without limiting their linear growth velocity or reducing their LBM.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes