EFFECTS OF AN INTERVENTION WITH PEDOMETER ON METABOLIC RISK IN OBESE CHILDREN

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

In recent decades, the incidence of obesity in children is increasing along with physical inactivity. Obesity and physical inactivity are predisposing components to the worsening of metabolic risk factors and treatment is fundamental aiming at improving the health of young people.

Objective:

To verify the effect of 12 weeks of an intervention focused on physical activity on metabolic risk factors in obese children.

Methods:

The final sample consisted of 19 students aged between 8 and 10 years (10 in the pedometer group and nine in the control group). Physical activity was measured and guided by the Yamax(r) sw 700 pedometer (Tokyo, Honshu, Japan). For within and between groups comparisons the two way ANOVA was applied for repeated measures with significance set at p<0.05.

Results:

The number of steps increased significantly only in the pedometer group after the 12-week intervention (9729.7±2539.8 before vs. 13151.6±3581.7 after). Significant increase was observed in body weight, height, and BMI in the control group. In the pedometer group, it was observed significant increase only in stature. Regarding the metabolic risk factors, there was no significant change found in the control group, while in the pedometer group a significant decrease in insulin levels was observed (12.21±8.53 before vs. 7.26±4.70 µUI/ml after) and HOMA IR (2.76±1.93 before vs. 1.49±0.93 after).

Conclusion:

This intervention with physical activity from setting goals using pedometers significantly reduced the concentrations of insulin and the homeostasis index (HOMA IR) in obese children regardless of weight loss.

Keywords:
obesity; motor activity; pediatrics