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Energy expenditure during walking and running in obese and nonobese prepubertal children
Insights
Obese children expend more energy during walking and running compared to non-obese children. This finding is crucial for developing effective physical activity programs for childhood obesity treatment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Exercise Physiology
- Obesity Research
- Human Metabolism
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Understanding energy expenditure during physical activity is vital for weight management strategies.
- Prepubertal children's metabolic responses to exercise require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare energy expenditure during treadmill walking and running between obese and non-obese prepubertal children.
- To investigate the relationship between body composition and energy cost of exercise in children.
- To inform the design of physical activity interventions for pediatric obesity.
Main Methods:
- Indirect calorimetry was used to measure energy expenditure in 40 prepubertal children (23 obese, 17 non-obese).
- Participants performed walking and running exercises on a treadmill at standardized speeds.
- Body composition and physiological responses (pulmonary ventilation, heart rate) were assessed.
Main Results:
- Obese children exhibited significantly greater absolute energy expenditure during walking and running compared to controls (p < 0.01).
- When normalized for body weight or fat-free mass, energy expenditure was comparable between groups.
- Obese children showed a significantly higher pulmonary ventilatory response to exercise (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Walking and running are energetically more costly for obese children on an absolute basis.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering individual energy expenditure differences in exercise prescriptions for obese children.
- Understanding these energy costs can aid in developing tailored physical activity programs for childhood obesity treatment.
Abstract:
We measured body composition and energy expenditure during walking and running on a treadmill in 40 prepubertal children: 23 obese children (9.3 +/- 1.1 years of age; 46 +/- 10 kg (mean +/- SD)) and 17 nonobese matched control children (9.2 +/- 0.6 years of age; 30 +/- 5 kg). Energy expenditure was assessed by indirect calorimetry with a standard open-circuit method. At the same speed of exercise, the energy expenditure was significantly (p < 0.01) greater in obese than in control children, in both boys and girls. Expressed per kilogram of body weight or per kilogram of fat-free mass, the energy expenditure was comparable in the two groups. Obese children had a significantly (p < 0.01) larger pulmonary ventilatory response to exercise than did control children. Heart rate was comparable in boys and girls combined but significantly higher (p < 0.05) in obese subjects, if boys and girls were analyzed separately. These data indicate that walking and running are energetically more expensive for obese children than for children of normal body weight. The knowledge of these energy costs could be useful in devising a physical activity program to be used in the treatment of obese children.