TDNet Discover

Background: Obesity-driven diseases are among the leading causes of preventable and premature death in the United States. As an increasing number of children become obese, their risk of being obese as adults and dying of obesity-related diseases increases as well. Purpose: This review aims to answer the question: Compared to no intervention, what is the efficacy of implementing physical exercises including aerobic and strength training in obese adolescents aged 6-18 on future cardiometabolic outcomes? Methods: A comprehensive search of Medline Complete, Cochrane Library and PubMed using various combinations of search phrases including, “pediatric obesity AND exercise AND cardio,” “childhood obesity AND adult obesity AND cardiovascular risk factors,” “exercise AND adolescence AND obesity,” “pediatric obesity,” “cardiovascular risk,” and “exercise AND heart risk.” Two systematic review and meta-analyses and one meta-analysis were included Results: By analyzing the results of all three studies we find that exercise performed at a moderate to vigorous intensity with greater focus on aerobic and resistance training has superior results in improving cardiometabolic factors in children who are high-risk. Conclusion: There is sufficient evidence to conclude that exercise is efficacious in reducing current adverse cardiometabolic health markers. However, more research is required to determine if the early reduction of these adverse cardiometabolic health markers result in better outcomes for these patients as adults.