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Physical exercise training improves muscle strength and self-esteem in children with intestinal failure

Rozemarijn Duister1, Emma Koster2, Leontien Toussaint-Duyster3

  • 1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|November 11, 2025
PubMed

Insights

A tailored exercise program improved muscle strength, core stability, and self-esteem in children with intestinal failure. While exercise capacity didn't significantly change, physical activity and motor skills showed potential for improvement.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Pediatric Physical Therapy
  • Pediatric Rehabilitation

Background:

  • Children with intestinal failure (IF) often have reduced physical activity, altered body composition, and low bone density.
  • Physical activity is crucial for improving these parameters in pediatric IF patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of a tailored exercise intervention on physical fitness, nutritional status, and psychological well-being in children with IF.
  • To assess changes in exercise capacity, physical activity levels, motor performance, strength, core stability, body composition, and psychological factors.

Main Methods:

  • A 12-week tailored exercise intervention was implemented in pediatric IF patients (aged 6-18 years), including those on and off parenteral nutrition.
  • Assessments included physical fitness (exercise capacity, activity, motor skills, strength, stability), nutritional status (body composition, energy expenditure, labs), and psychological functioning (quality of life, fatigue, self-esteem).

Main Results:

  • While peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) did not significantly improve, workload, muscle strength, and core stability showed significant gains (p<0.05).
  • Self-esteem also improved significantly (p<0.05), but nutritional status remained unchanged.
  • Most participants (63%) did not meet physical activity guidelines, and baseline motor skills correlated positively with improvements in exercise capacity.

Conclusions:

  • The tailored exercise intervention effectively enhanced muscle strength, core stability, and self-esteem in pediatric IF patients.
  • Despite normal exercise capacity, many children exhibit impaired motor skills and fail to meet physical activity recommendations.
  • Improved baseline motor skills were associated with greater gains in exercise capacity, suggesting targeted interventions can be beneficial.
Abstract

Keywords:
interventionparenteral nutritionpediatrics

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