Use the Back button in your browser to see the other results of your search or to select another record.

Detailed Search Results

Assessment of an after-school physical activity program to prevent obesity among 9- to 10-year-old children: a cluster randomized trial
Martinez Vizcaino V, Salcedo Aguilar F, Franquelo Gutierrez R, Solera Martinez M, Sanchez Lopez M, Serrano Martinez S, Lopez Garcia E, Rodriguez Artalejo F
International Journal of Obesity 2008 Jan;32(1):12-22
clinical trial
5/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: No; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: No; Adequate follow-up: No; Intention-to-treat analysis: Yes; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a physical activity program on obesity in primary school children. DESIGN: Cluster-randomized controlled trial with 10 intervention and 10 control schools. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1,044 children, mean age 9.4 years (SD 0.7) at baseline, of the Province of Cuenca, Spain. INTERVENTION: Recreational, non-competitive physical activity program conducted after school hours on school premises. The program consisted of three 90-min sessions per week, for 24 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI), triceps skin-fold thickness (TST) and percentage body fat. Secondary measures were blood lipids and blood pressure. Measurements were made at the beginning (September 2004) and at the end of the program (June 2005). Since schools rather than children were randomized, mixed regression models were used to adjust for individual-level covariates under cluster randomization. RESULTS: There were no differences in BMI between the intervention and control groups. Compared with controls, intervention children showed a decrease in TST in both boys (-1.14 mm; 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.71 to -0.57; p < 0.001) and girls (-1.55 mm; 95% CI -2.38 to -0.73; p < 0.001), as well as a reduction in the percentage of body fat in girls (-0.58%; 95% CI -1.04 to -0.11; p = 0.02). Furthermore, the intervention boys exhibited a decrease in apolipoprotein (apo) B levels (-4.59; 95% CI -8.81 to -0.37; p = 0.03) and an increase in apo A-I levels (13.57; 95% CI 7.95 to 19.20; p < 0.001). Blood lipid results in girls were very similar. No changes in total cholesterol, triglycerides or blood pressure were associated with the intervention in either sex, except for an increase in diastolic blood pressure (1.55 mmHg; 95% CI 0.19 to 2.91; p = 0.03) in the intervention versus control boys. CONCLUSION: An after-school program of recreational physical activity reduced adiposity, increased apo A-I and decreased apo B in primary school children.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help