Effect of a multicomponent intervention in components of metabolic syndrome: a study with overweight/obese low-income school-aged children

Examining the mediating role of muscle quantity in adolescents: associations with adiposity, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and cardiometabolic risk factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mediation role of muscle quantity in the relationship between physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) in adolescents. This cross-sectional study conducted with 120 adolescents of both sexes, aged between 10 and 17 years. Body mass, height, fat mass (FM), lean mass, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and 1 repetition maximum strength (1-RM) with evaluation of the leg press 45° (RM-leg), bench press (RM-bench) and arm curl (RM-arm). Body mass index z-score, appendicular skeletal muscle mass, appendicular skeletal muscle mass index, lean mass index (LMI), muscle-to-fat ratio (MFR), age at peak height velocity, and CMRF z-score were calculated. The direct relation between FM and CMRF was mediated by the LMI (26%) and inverse relation between CRF and CMRF was mediated by the LMI (26%). For girls, the direct relation between FM and CMRF was mediated by the LMI (32%); the inverse relation between CRF, RM-leg, RM-arm and CMRF was mediated by the LMI (32%, 33%, and 32%, respective). For boys, the indirect effect was not significant, indicating that LMI is not a mediator in the relation between FM, CRF, 1-RM with CMRF. The direct relation between RM-leg and CMRF was mediated by the MRF (16%). This finding evidenced the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle to improve physical fitness levels and the quantity of muscle mass in adolescents.

Changes in children’s self-perceived physical fitness: results from a Physical Education internet-based intervention in COVID-19 school lockdown

Background

Children have a higher chance of decreasing health-related physical fitness during periods of school lockdown due to pandemic situations such as with COVID-19 disease.

Aims

To establish the changes in children’s self-perceived physical fitness (SPPF) during pandemic COVID-19 social distancing in a school lockdown and to describe the individual prevalence of changes in SPPF according to sex.

Methods

It is an intervention study with a convenient sample, 67 children (6–13 years old; 50.7% girls). An intervention occurred according to the Brazilian Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) and the State Education Secretary orientations for remote Physical Education classes. SPPF was evaluated through a questionnaire (QAPA). Generalized estimative equations (GEE) and the prevalence of changes in individual score delta (Δ) from baseline to follow-up determined the effects.

Results

Positive individual changes in SPPF were observed for 21.2% of girls and 26.4% of boys. Older children presented fewer SPPF total points. There was no interaction between the evaluation period, sex, and age. However, higher baseline SPPF values presented a negative association with the individual SPPF variation (β = − 2.52%; CI 95% − 3.97 to − 1.07; p = 0.001).

Conclusion

A remote Physical Education intervention effectively maintained or even increased individual results of children’s SPPF. Thereby, this study suggests that this kind of initiative should be retained for the duration of social distancing and pandemic conditions to help children maintain an active lifestyle and, consequently, achieve health benefits. Improving intervention effectiveness by focusing on girls seems to be a challenge in this matter.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11332-022-00897-1.

A Multicomponent Intervention Program With Overweight and Obese Adolescents Improves Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness, but Not Insulin Biomarkers

Objective: To verify the effect of a multicomponent intervention with overweight/obese adolescents on physical fitness, body composition, and insulin biomarkers.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study with 37 adolescents, aged 10 to 17 years, of both sexes, overweight and obese, allocated in two groups (Intervention—IG Group, n = 17; Control—GC Group, n = 20). The IGs were submitted to a multicomponent intervention for 6 months (three weekly sessions) consisting of physical exercises (sports, functional circuit, recreational, and water activities) and nutritional and psychological guidance. Participants were assessed before and after intervention on body composition [body mass index (BMI), body fat, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)], physical fitness [cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and abdominal strength], and biomarkers of insulin (glucose, insulin, evaluation of the homeostasis model of insulin, and resistin resistance). The prevalence of responders in both groups was obtained according to the theoretical model applied in previous studies similar to this one to determine the cutoff points for response to intervention. Poisson regression was used to verify the difference in the prevalence ratio (PR) of the interviewees between the groups.

Results: The responders' prevalence between groups CG and IG showed significant differences for body fat (CG = 30.0%; IG = 70.6%; PR = 1.396; p < 0.001), WHR (CG = 30.0%; IG = 76.5%; PR = 1.730; p < 0.001), and CRF (CG = 15.0%; IG = 52.5%; PR = 1.580; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: A 6-month multicomponent intervention program improved certain body composition parameters and the CRF of overweight and obese adolescents but did not improve insulin biomarkers.

Clinical Trial Registration: Clinical Trials under Protocol ID: 54985316.0.0000.5343.