Search

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a health education program based on nutritional treatment for control of obesity. The study site was the public elementary school system which was selected because of easier implementation and effectiveness of the program. The subjects were chosen from public elementary schools in Morioka (5 out of 33) who were either 4th or 5th graders with an obesity level of 30% or above. Fifty students agreed to participate (35 boys and 15 girls) and all had parental consent. They were placed on a restricted diet of low carbohydrate and high protein for three months. Before and after the three month dietary program, level of obesity were measured. This study produced the following results: 1. After education the caloric level as well as the three main elements of nutrition were clearly decreased in both boys and girls. Nutrient intakes were in the appropriate range of recommended allowances for boys but both energy level and iron were less than the appropriate amount for girls. A decrease in carbohydrates energy and an increase in protein was observed for both boys and girls. 2. The intake of selected foods such as rice, wheat, snacks, fats and oils, decreased dramatically for both boys and girls. 3. This diet and exercise treatment program was very effective because obesity level dropped to 10.4% for boys and 7.5% for girls.

The objectives of this study were to determined characteristics of physical fitness in obese children, and to examine the effect of a diet-exercise program, developed in our laboratory, on the physical fitness of these children. To accomplish the first objective, a physical fitness test consisting of 11 items was administered on 126 obese and normal weight children (boys 83, girls 43) matched for age, sex, and stature. The children, 9-10 years of age, were pupils from 11 public elementary schools in Morioka, Iwate, Japan. To accomplish the second objective, 92 obese children participated in a study. The children were divided into experimental and control groups. Children in the experimental group (n = 50) participated in a diet-exercise program for three months, while children in the control group (n = 42) were left alone without taking part in the program. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. The obese children were found to be significantly inferior to the normal-weight children in fitness items such as standing long jump, pull-ups, sit-ups, step test, and total fitness scores. While no differences in lying trunk extension and standing trunk flexion for body flexibility were observed, the obese children were found to be superior to the normal weight children in static strength such as grip and back strengths. 2. The poor physical fitness of the obese children was found to be negatively affected by their excess body fat, rather than body weight, and that this trend was more pronounced for boys than for girls. 3. The intervention study clearly demonstrated that children in the experimental group improved in physical fitness for most items, especially in abdominal muscle endurance, aerobic capacity, and total physical fitness. 4. It was shown that the diet-exercise program, which comprised guidance on physical exercise and individual nutrition counseling was very useful, because the participants should decrease a considerable in percent overweight and body fat, but without limiting their linear growth velocity or reducing their LBM.