Loading...
The prevalence of overweight children increased dramatically from 1999 to 2004 (17% overall, higher in minority children), raising concerns about an increased risk for childhood metabolic syndrome. In this study, investigators randomized 209 overweight children (roughly two thirds Hispanic and African American; mean age, 12 years; mean body-mass index, 36; mean body fat, 46%) to an intensive weight-management program or a control group. The intervention group received intensive nutrition education and a structured exercise program (education plus 50 minutes of exercise twice weekly for 6 months, then twice monthly for 6 months more); the control group received standard diet and exercise counseling every 6 months.
Compared with the control gr…