What exercise program can best fight the “epidemic” of teenybopper obesity? Based on a study published in the Journal from the Ama (JAMA) Pediatrics, by combining aerobic fitness exercise with resistance training.
The Eating healthily Aerobic and Strength training in Youth (HEARTY) study, led by researchers in the University of Calgary and University of Ottawa, involved 304 overweight teens in the Ottawa/Gatineau area between 14 to 18. All were given exactly the same a month of diet counseling to advertise healthy eating and weight reduction prior to being randomly place into four groups. The very first group performed resistance training involving weight machines and some dumbells; the 2nd performed only aerobic exercise on treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes; the third underwent combined aerobic and resistance training; and also the last group did no exercise training.
“Obesity is definitely an epidemic among youth,” says Dr. Ron Sigal of the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health and Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. “Adolescents who’re overweight are typically advised to exercise more, but there’s limited evidence on what kind of being active is very best in order to lose fat.”
In the general study population, each kind of exercise reduced excess fat significantly and similarly. The 3 exercise programs caused significantly more fat loss than in the diet-only control group. Among youths who completed a minimum of 70 % from the study’s exercise sessions, the proportion of body fat decreased “significantly more in people who did combined aerobic and resistance exercise than in people who only did aerobic exercise,” says co-principal researcher Dr. Glen Kenny of the University of Ottawa.
“Remarkably, among participants who completed at least 70 percent of the prescribed exercise sessions, waist circumference decreased close to seven centimeters in those randomized to combined aerobic plus resistance exercise, versus four centimeters in those randomized to do just one type of exercise, with no change in those randomized to diet alone.”
Supervised by personal trainers, youths within the three exercise groups were inspired to train 4 times each week for 22 weeks at community-based facilities. Alterations in excess fat were measured using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. Because cardio such as cycling or jogging can be challenging for overweight people, resistance training is potentially attractive because excess bodyweight poses far less of a disadvantage, and gains in strength come a lot more quickly than gains in aerobic fitness.
Researchers hope that the study will bring about a national debate about childhood and teenage obesity, potentially resulting in a regular, long-term strategy regarding how to best deal using the problem. 80 % of overweight youth typically continue being obese as adults, adversely affecting the quality of their lives and adding to chronic disease problems. Adult obesity increases chance of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and disability.
The study was led by doctors Sigal and Kenny, and also the research team included co-principal investigators, Gary Goldfield and Stasia Hadjiannakis from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Janine Malcolm of Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Angela Alberga, previously a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and currently a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Calgary.
The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health, and Sigal is funded by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions.
