Obese Children Benefit from Regular Exercise

By Kevin Self
Reviewed by Glenn Hirsch, MD, FACC

December 11, 2009--New research shows that regular exercise — at least three times per week — for obese children reduces the risks of heart disease, including improved blood pressure and early markers of arterial disease.

The rate of childhood obesity is in on the rise. You can debate all day the reasons why this is true — everything from metabolic issues to hours spent playing video games — but the end result remains the same. Obese children and adolescents are at increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health issues later in life.

Although the benefits of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of heart disease are well established in adults, there is much less data on these effects in obese children. In addition, the studies that have been conducted typically focus on a number of variables, including exercise, diet, and behavior. Few isolate the benefits of exercise alone and none focus on children before puberty.

A new study, however, aimed to fill this void. Researchers monitored obese children before puberty to determine the effects of a physical activity program on blood pressure and the early markers of arterial disease — or atherosclerosis.

Study Findings

The study found that physical exercise resulted in a significant reduction in blood pressure after three months and a decrease in arterial stiffness after six months. The benefit, however, doesn’t stop there and appears to affect the whole body and reduce abdominal fat.

“Childhood obesity is associated with the premature development of high blood pressure and the presence of early signs of arterial disease, even before puberty,” says Dr. Nathalie Farpour-Lambert in the Pediatric Cardiology Unit at University Hospitals of Geneva, and lead author of the study.

Because these effects are seen before puberty, the study emphasizes the need for early intervention and the need to identify effective strategies to prevent the spread of heart disease in obese children.

What Should I do?

“If your child is overweight, you should encourage him to practice moderate physical activity such as walking, playing ball games or swimming at least three times per week for 60 minutes,” says Farpour-Lambert. Perhaps most importantly, she recommends that the exercise be made fun for the kids. If it is not, they will not adhere to the exercise program and not benefit as much.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. David S. Celermajer agrees with the findings of the study and adds that, “clinical exercise programs in children should monitor percent body fat rather than body mass index, to measure effectiveness of the physical activity program prescribed.”

Ultimately, Celermajer concludes that this study is a good beginning in how to treat obese children, but researchers need to further define the “type, frequency, intensity, and direction of exercise” to ensure that the children participating find it enjoyable and stick with it.

“As risk factors for heart diseases track from childhood to adulthood, obese children should be encouraged to practice regular physical activity,” concludes Farpour-Lambert. “This will improve fitness, reduce blood pressure, and prevent cardiovascular diseases later in life.”

The study results are published in the December 15/22, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Sources: 

Farpour-Lambert NJ et al. Physical Activity Reduces Systemic Blood Pressure and Improves Early Markers of Atherosclerosis in Pre-Pubertal Obese Children. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009.

Celermajer DS. Wait for Weight of “Waste” the Waist: Benefits of Early Intervention in Childhood Obesity. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009.

Dr. Nathalie Farpour-Lambert, Pediatric Cardiology Unit, Department of Child and Adolescent, University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland