Best Exercise for Overweight Teens

JAMA Pediatrics published a research study on The Healthy Eating Aerobic and Resistance Training in Youth (HEARTY) that included 304 overweight teens between the ages of 14 to 18. All were given the same four weeks of diet counseling to promote healthy eating and weight loss before being randomly placed into four groups: 1) resistance training involving weight machines and some free weights; 2) only aerobic exercise on treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes; 3) combined aerobic and resistance training; and 4) no exercise training.

The following results were recorded:
1. each type of exercise reduced body fat significantly and similarly.
2. all three exercise programs caused significantly more fat loss than in the diet-only control group.
3. the teens who completed at least 70 per cent of the study’s exercise sessions (4x/week for 22 weeks), the percentage of body fat decreased significantly more in those who did combined aerobic and resistance exercise than in those who only did aerobic exercise. In addition, waist circumference decreased close to seven centimeters in the combined aerobic plus resistance exercise group, versus about four centimeters in the groups with only one type of exercise, with no change in those randomized to diet only.

Reference: University of Calgary. Research study analyzes best exercise for obese youths. Retrieved from the web on 9/27/14 at http://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2014-09-23/research-study-analyzes-best-exercise-obese-youths