Physically active preschoolers are on to
a good thing, but exercise alone won't keep
obesity at bay as they get older, British
researchers report.
Instead, a combination
of exercise and other lifestyle changes --
especially improved diets -- may be the only
solution to the childhood obesity epidemic,
experts say.
"Promotion of physically active play
per se may not be sufficient to have an impact
on the weight status of young children,"
said lead researcher Dr. John J. Reilly, a
professor of pediatric energy metabolism at
the University of Glasgow, Scotland.
His team published its finding in the Oct.
5 online issue of the British Medical Journal.
The researchers had already shown in earlier
work that Scottish preschoolers have surprisingly
inactive lifestyles. They typically get less
than 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
activity each day, in contrast to the recommended
60 minutes a day.
In their study, Reilly's team looked at whether
exercise could reduce the weight of 545 preschool
children. Some of the children took part in
an active play program, which consisted of
three 30 minute sessions each week. In addition,
parents received guidance on how to increase
physical play at home.
The researchers measured the children's weight
at six months and then again at one year.
They also assessed the youngsters' movement
skills, and tracked whether or not the increase
in activity reduced sedentary behaviors.
They found that exercise had some health
benefits, but weight loss was not among them.
Exercise had little effect on weight, or
on the activity behaviors of the children,
compared with the children who did not take
part in the program. However, for children
in the program, additional exercise did help
improve their motor and movement skills.
"We know from older studies that improved
motor skills, balance, running, skipping,
catching a ball, bouncing a ball, is of benefit
to children socially and developmentally,
and tends to promote engagement in sport,
and may help reduce subsequent excess weight
gain," Reilly said.
However, most children, even of preschool
age, are relatively inactive, Reilly said.
"We can't just assume that they are physically
active," he said. "[We] must recognize
that we need to change the environment at
preschool/day care, at home and in the wider
environment in ways which help them become
more physically active."
There is great pressure on institutions and
politicians in Britain to do something about
childhood obesity, Reilly added. "While
this is fine, it is possible that we will
be doing things that might not have the intended
effects. Our study shows the importance of
rigorous evaluation of public health interventions
before they are rolled out," he said.
One U.S. expert agreed that no single program
can attack the obesity epidemic.
"It should come as no great surprise
that Reilly and colleagues were unable to
demonstrate a significant weight change among
nursery school children receiving a physical
activity program," said Dr. David L.
Katz, director of the Prevention Research
Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
"The program in no way represented an
'equal and opposite force' to such factors
as fast food, junk food, the temptations of
technology, and suburban sprawl that conspire
to make us fat."
The message here is not that the program
failed, Katz said, but that "we need
to do more than fix one thing at a time."
"We need to improve dietary choices
and increase physical activity, in school
and at home, every day. We need programs that
engage families in a shared commitment to
healthful practices, and that reach families
via schools, work sites, clinics and community
portals such as supermarkets, movie theatres
and shopping malls," Katz said. "No
one program in isolation can, or should be
expected to, bear that burden alone."
