Inter‐individual differences in body mass index were not observed as a result of aerobic exercise in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity

Abstract

Background: Exercise has been recommended as an important intervention for reducing adiposity in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. Objective: Determine whether inter-individual differences exist in relation to exercise-induced changes in adiposity among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. Methods: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled aerobic exercise trials and body mass index (BMI) in kg Á m −2. Change outcome standard deviations were pooled using the inverse-variance heterogeneity model. Results: Twenty-eight studies (1185 participants) were included. Inter-individual differences in BMI were −0.1 (95% compatibility interval, −0.7 to 0.7). The 95% prediction interval for inter-individual responses in a future study was −2.9 to 2.9. The probability of a clinically meaningful difference in variability was 29% (possibly clinically important) in favour of controls vs exercisers. Conclusions: Inter-individual differences for BMI in kg Á m −2 were not observed as a result of aerobic exercise in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity.

Influences of exercise interventions on overweight and obesity in children and adolescents

“…These findings coincided with previous studies (Damaso et al., 2014; Monteiro et al., 2015). A recent meta‐analysis reported that aerobic exercise led to reduced BMI, but did not find inter‐individual differences in BMI (Kelley et al., 2020). Aerobic exercise interventions may help reduce body fat in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity.…”

A Systematic Review Examining the Approaches Used to Estimate Interindividual Differences in Trainability and Classify Individual Responses to Exercise Training

“…The observation that most ES IR values (18/25) lay below or crossed zero (Figure 3) adds to a growing body of literature questioning the presence of interindividual differences in trainability following standardized exercise training (Williamson et al, 2017(Williamson et al, , 2018Del Giudice et al, 2020;Kelley et al, 2020Kelley et al, , 2021Bonafiglia et al, 2021a;Islam et al, 2021). For example, we recently reported wide-ranging changes in energy intake, diet composition, and sedentary time following a controlled exercise intervention (Bonafiglia et al, 2019a).…”

“…The few studies that statistically estimated the presence of interindividual differences in trainability varied substantially in participant characteristics, training modes, and outcomes assessed (Figure 3). Recent meta-analyses have reported pooled SD IR estimates indicating a lack of interindividual differences in trainability in body weight and body composition (Williamson et al, 2018;Kelley et al, 2020Kelley et al, , 2021. Unlike the present study, these meta-analyses focused on a single outcome and used search criteria that identified all studies reporting standard deviations of change scores and not just those evaluating individual responses as we did in the present review.…”

Exercise and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents With Obesity: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…124,125 However, this previous work included children with either overweight or obesity versus obesity only, and were limited to BMI in kg/m 2 , FM, and BF%. 124,125…”

“…However, recent research by the investigative team in which true interindividual response differences were appropriately quantified suggests that this may not be the case. 124,125 However, this previous work included children with either overweight or obesity versus obesity only, and were limited to BMI in kg/m 2 , FM, and BF%. 124,125…”