Effects of a summer program for weight management in obese children and adolescents in Shanghai

To investigate the effects of a combined intervention of diet and physical activity on body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE) and metabolic factors in obese children and adolescents.

Twenty obese children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years completed a 4-week summer camp program which focussed on personal behaviour, including energy-restricted diets and supervised physical activity. Anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance, ultrasonography (US) for subcutaneous and hepatic fat, and abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging assessments were made and blood pressure (BP) recorded before and after the 4-week intervention.

1) Weight loss was 7.2 ± 2.2 kg, with losses of 5.5 ± 2.2 kg and 1.7 ± 1.2 kg in fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM), respectively, with associated reductions in abdominal and hip fat and in the waist/hip circumference ratio and in BP. 2) There were no significant changes in REE or in its ratio with weight. 3) Reductions in uric acid, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HbA1C, insulin, C-Peptide and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the ratio of fatty liver were observed, but not in the inflammatory marker hsCRP.

With behavioural intervention during a summer camp, body fat and its distribution were favourably changed, but with some loss of lean mass. However, there were no detectable reductions in REE. Weight management programs which achieve fat loss with maintenance of REE ought to be more sustainable.