Childhood obesity is a multisystem disease that carries an increased risk of chronic diseases in adults. The prevalence of obesity in children has increased in recent years. In Italy, 29% of children are obese or overweight. The main complications affecting children with obesity include type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The first- line treatment includes lifestyle interventions and modification of eating habits. Physical activity is considered a non-pharmacological treatment for obese children. Exercise improves health and reduces the risk of complications. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought restrictions in the practice of face- to-face workouts for obese children. Therefore, online training programs have been developed in order to accomplish the needs of children with obesity. The study presented aims to evaluate the effects of a 12-week supervised online training on children with obesity. The study included 40 Caucasian children aged 8-13 years. An examination was performed before and after the training protocol. During the examination, anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, BMI z-score, pubertal stages, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio) were recorded and the children filled out the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ- C). Physical tests (long jump, 6-minute walking test, 5x10m sprint test) were also evaluated. The protocol consisted of 12 weeks with 3 training sessions per week, lasting 1 hour each. The sessions included aerobic interval training and strength circuit. The Children's Effort Rating Table(CERT) assessed the perceived fatigue in children. The results showed improvement in BMI z- score, waist-to-height ratio, and performance parameters in physical activities. These results are encouraging and suggest further investigation of the benefits of a supervised online training protocol for obese children.
L’obesità infantile è una patologia multisistemica che comporta un aumentato rischio di malattie croniche in età adulta. La prevalenza dell’obesità nei bambini è aumentata negli ultimi anni. In Italia il 29% dei bambini presenta obesità o è in sovrappeso. Le complicanze principali che colpiscono i bambini con obesità sono di tipo endocrino-metabolico e comprendono diabete di tipo 2, dislipidemia e sindrome metabolica. Il trattamento di prima linea prevede interventi sullo stile di vita e sulla modifica delle abitudini alimentari. L’attività fisica nel bambino con obesità è considerata un trattamento non farmacologico, che migliora lo stato di salute e riduce i rischi di complicanze. La pandemia da COVID-19 ha portato limitazioni nella pratica di allenamenti in presenza per soggetti con obesità. Pertanto, si sono sviluppati programmi di allenamento online mirati alle esigenze di bambini con obesità. Lo studio ha l’obiettivo di valutare gli effetti di un allenamento online supervisionato della durata di 12 settimane su bambini con obesità. Sono stati inclusi nello studio 40 bambini caucasici di età compresa tra 8 e 13 anni. È stata eseguita una visita prima e dopo il protocollo di allenamento, nella quale sono state registrate le caratteristiche antropometriche (altezza, peso, BMI z-score, stadi puberali, circonferenza vita e rapporto vita/altezza) ed è stato somministrato un questionario sulle abitudini di movimento dei bambini durante la settimana (PAQ-C, Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children). Sono state inoltre eseguite delle prove fisiche (salto in lungo, 6-minute walking test, sprint 5x10 metri). Il protocollo ha previsto 3 sessioni di allenamento a settimana della durata di 1 ora ciascuno, per 12 settimane. Le sessioni hanno compreso esercizi di tipo aerobico e di potenza, ed è stato valutato lo sforzo attraverso un questionario (CERT, Children's Effort Rating Table). I risultati hanno mostrato miglioramento del BMI z-score, del rapporto vita/altezza, e dei parametri di performance nelle attività fisiche. Tali dati suggeriscono la necessità di ulteriori studi per confermare i benefici di un protocollo di allenamento online supervisionato per bambini con obesità.
Tele-exercise training: effetti di un programma di allenamento online dedicato in bambini con obesità
RICCIARDO, MARIA CHIARA
2021/2022
Abstract
Childhood obesity is a multisystem disease that carries an increased risk of chronic diseases in adults. The prevalence of obesity in children has increased in recent years. In Italy, 29% of children are obese or overweight. The main complications affecting children with obesity include type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The first- line treatment includes lifestyle interventions and modification of eating habits. Physical activity is considered a non-pharmacological treatment for obese children. Exercise improves health and reduces the risk of complications. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought restrictions in the practice of face- to-face workouts for obese children. Therefore, online training programs have been developed in order to accomplish the needs of children with obesity. The study presented aims to evaluate the effects of a 12-week supervised online training on children with obesity. The study included 40 Caucasian children aged 8-13 years. An examination was performed before and after the training protocol. During the examination, anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, BMI z-score, pubertal stages, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio) were recorded and the children filled out the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ- C). Physical tests (long jump, 6-minute walking test, 5x10m sprint test) were also evaluated. The protocol consisted of 12 weeks with 3 training sessions per week, lasting 1 hour each. The sessions included aerobic interval training and strength circuit. The Children's Effort Rating Table(CERT) assessed the perceived fatigue in children. The results showed improvement in BMI z- score, waist-to-height ratio, and performance parameters in physical activities. These results are encouraging and suggest further investigation of the benefits of a supervised online training protocol for obese children.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
Per contatti: unitesi@unipv.it
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/14948