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Obesity measures improve with supervised diet, exercise training among adolescents
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Multiple obesity-related endpoints can be improved in adolescents with a treatment regimen that includes supervised diet and exercise training, according to study findings published in Pediatrics.
Luc Bruyndonckx, PhD, of the University of Antwerp and the Antwerp University Hospital in Belgium, and colleagues conducted a quasi-randomized trial to determine the effects of a residential diet-and-exercise intervention on microvascular function in 61 adolescents with obesity. Researchers also assessed effects on BMI, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, macrovascular endothelial function and circulating endothelial proginator cells (EPCs) and endothelial microparticles (EMPs). Participants were evaluated after 5 months and at the end of the 10-month program.
Luc Bruyndonckx
Participants were divided into two groups: those enrolled in a residential treatment program at the Zeepreventorium (De Haan, Belgium) with supervised diet and exercise (intervention group; n=33) and those receiving usual care that consisted of treatment by a general practitioner or pediatrician focused on caloric intake restriction and encouragement for participation in sports (controls; n=28).
At the 5-month follow-up the intervention group had a decrease in BMI from baseline compared with an increase among controls (P < .001). Compared with controls, the intervention group had a greater decrease in LDL cholesterol (P < .001). The intervention group also demonstrated improved exercise capacity.
At the end of the 10 month treatment, the intervention achieved a total weight loss of 26.9 kg compared with a weight gain of 7.4 kg for controls (P < .001). Body fat decreased by 13.9% in the intervention group and increased by 0.6% among controls (P <.001). There was a greater decrease in LDL cholesterol among the intervention group compared with controls (P = .04). High-density lipoprotein levels increased more among the intervention group compared with the usual-care group (P = .002), and microvascular endothelial function was more improved (P = .04). The intervention group had a greater decline in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P = .01) and a greater rise in adiponectin (P < .001) compared with controls.
EPCs increased after 5 months (P = .01). The intervention group revealed a reduction in the number of circulating EMPs compared with a rise among controls after 10 months (P = .004).
“Obese adolescents have an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality at adult age, if not treated optimally,” Bruyndonckx told Endocrine Today. “We were the first to demonstrate that 10 months of diet and exercise training improves microvascular endothelial function (the first step in the development of atherosclerosis) in obese adolescents, reducing their cardiovascular risk. In addition, we gained further insights in the underlying physiological mechanisms of this improvement of endothelial dysfunction.”– by Amber Cox
For more information:
Luc Bruyndonckx, PhD, can be reached at luc.bruyndonckx@uantwerpen.be.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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