Few studies have investigated the impact of school-based physical activity interventions on anthropometric characteristics concomitantly with aerobic and anaerobic capacities in young children. The present study aimed to assess the effect of a 6-month physical activity program on body composition and physical fitness among primary schoolchildren. Four hundred fifty-seven children aged 6 to 10 years were randomly assigned to the intervention group (229 children) or observational group (228 children). Participants' height and weight were assessed, and obesity was determined using French reference curves for BMI. The sum of the four skinfolds and fat-free mass were determined. Ground tests were used to assess aerobic (20-m shuttle run test) and anaerobic (cycling peak power) fitness before and after a 6-month physical activity intervention. The anthropometric modifications obtained over the 6 months cannot be attributed to the intervention as the ANOVA revealed no group effect (intervention vs. group). However, anaerobic and aerobic fitness were significantly improved, thanks to the program in both lean and obese children. A 6-month school-based physical activity intervention in 6- to 10-year-old children did not yield positive anthropometric improvements, but appears effective in terms of aerobic and anaerobic physical fitness. Two physical activity sessions per week in addition to standard physical education classes in primary schoolchildren bring effective results for the prevention of childhood obesity.

Aim: To fight overweight and obesity in childhood, this study proposes an additional physical activity (PA) in young children aged 6-10 years. The objective was to evaluate the effect of school-based PA on the body composition according to body mass index (BMI) categories (nonobese vs. obese) and gender.Methods: This 6-month study examined the effect of this intervention on body composition in 425 children in 14 primary schools (2 weekly PA sessions of 1 h each) compared to 5 control schools.Adiposity indices were evaluated or calculated: BMI, BMI z-score, waist circumference, sum of skinfolds and fat-free mass.Results: No difference in the prevalence of obesity and anthropometric characteristics was found between the intervention and control groups at baseline. In girls, PA intervention had significant effect on all anthropometric variables (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001), except on BMI. In contrast, in boys only BMI z-score (p < 0.001) and fat-free mass (p < 0.001) were affected.Conclusions: Six months of preventive PA intervention offer an effective means to improve body composition in obese children. The pattern of response related to PA was similar between girls and boys. In contrast, the pattern was different according to BMI category, with a higher response in obese than nonobese children.

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To study the safety and efficacy of administering human recombinant erythropoietin (rHuEPO) to infants with anaemia of prematurity, a combined phase I/II trial of weekly intravenous injections for 4 weeks was undertaken. We treated 16 infants with 10, 25, 50, 100 or 200 units/kg body weight in groups of two to four patients per dose level. They were all born prematurely (mean gestational age: 29 weeks; range 27-32), had a mean post-natal age of 42 days (range: 25-59) and haemoglobin concentration of 87 g/l (range: 72-94) when treatment was started. Four patients (25%) needed a transfusion during the trial, one at day 7 treated with 10 units/kg and 3 at days 15, 25, 29 with 100 units/kg. In the others, a progressive rise in mean haemoglobin values was seen in each group after 21 days of treatment, without a dose-dependent effect. A positive change in absolute reticulocyte counts with a peak after 7-14 days of therapy was observed with low (25-50 units/kg) but not with higher doses, with a significant difference at day 14 between 25 and 100 units/kg (P less than 0.01). A dose-limiting severe neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count less than 0.5 x 10(9)/l) occurred transiently in five patients, with doses greater than 25 units/kg. No infectious complication and no sign of iron deficiency were observed. Weekly low doses of rHuEPO appear safe, convenient to administer and able to induce a reticulocytic response in infants with anaemia of prematurity. A phase III placebo-controlled trial is needed to confirm these results. Neutropenia associated with rHuEPO administration in infants might be related to their stage of human ontogeny.

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