Physical activity and family‐based obesity treatment: a review of expert recommendations on physical activity in youth

Abstract

What is already known about this subject• Exercise and physical activity are key to the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.• Family-based approaches are the gold standard for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. What does this study add• Expert recommendations for exercise and physical activity for children and adolescents are consistent across numerous professional organizations: 60 min a day of exercise is recommended, with a combination of aerobic, muscle strengthening and bone strengthening activities being idea.• Recommendations do not provide guidance on family-based physical activity, or include developmental considerations, leaving clinicians with little in which to provide family-based physical activity interventions.• Experience of one paediatric obesity program provides guidance on incorporating family-based physical activity into treatment. SummaryTargeting physical inactivity in children is pertinent to aiding in the decrease of childhood obesity rates. Only 33% of adolescents are obtaining the recommended goal of at least 60 min of physical activity per day. The objectives of this review are to summarize professional recommendations for physical activity and exercise in children and adolescents, and identify family-centred strategies that can be implemented by weight management clinicians. Clinically oriented recommendations and policy statements from professional organizations were identified through literature and internet searches, summarized using rubrics of aerobic, muscle strengthening and bone strengthening exercise, then examined for details on family-based focus, inclusion of child developmental stage and age, and application to the prevention and treatment of obesity. Current recommendations give guidelines for the amount of physical activity that children should acquire and how many days a week activities should occur. However, available guidelines need an improved approach to addressing the role of the parents and caregivers in targeting physical activity and weight management in youth. Efforts must be taken in order to make sure that the types of physical activity offered are both suitable and enjoyable. Sports, games, free play and other age appropriate activities are adequate ways to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity in children. Differentiating physical activities types in accordance with developmental stage, level of enjoyment, and family characteristics is needed to establish sustainable habits. One paediatric obesity program has developed approaches to teaching families fun and engaging ways to be active together.

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Related with Physical Fitness and Physical Activity in Schoolchildren Aged 6–13

“…This fact agrees with a recent systematic review conducted by Iaccarino et al [26], which indicated that most studies performed found no statistically significant differences for weight status, abdominal obesity and adiposity in relation to MD adherence. However, it should be underlined that exploring the relationship between MD and overweight/obesity is complicated, since KIDMED index does not include the frequency of consumption of certain foods, as well as the estimated nutritional intakes derived from this [47].…”

Effects of Physical Self-Concept, Emotional Isolation, and Family Functioning on Attitudes towards Physical Education in Adolescents: Structural Equation Analysis

“…Those who rate the subject and teacher more highly also demonstrate greater agreement with its management [84], whilst in contrast, also considering it to be less useful. When students conceive PE as sport, they find it more difficult as a subject [85], view it as being more useful, and hold a stronger preference for it [86].…”

The relationships and interactions between age, exercise and physiological function

“…The increasing prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in inactive children with high caloric diets (Foster et al . ) is testament to the general prediction that poor lifestyle results in increased periods of morbidity across the lifespan. If the appearance of disease symptoms is the result of thresholds of function being breached then non‐exercisers, when compared to exercisers, are well on the path to crossing these thresholds much earlier (Fried et al .…”