New findings, published in American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, suggests aerobic exercise may have more health benefits than resistance training for obese teen girls.
“Therefore, given the superior improvements in metabolic health with aerobic exercise and the enjoyment factor, we propose that aerobic exercise may be a better mode of exercise for adolescent girls of this age group,” noted researchers in a press release.
Obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the U.S. during the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The growing rate of childhood obesity is a major health concern since overweight and obese youth are at increased risk of developing several diseases such as type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, potentially impairing its function over time.
Diet and exercise have been considered as first lines to treat childhood obesity, but a recent study involving obese boys found exercise alone had significant health benefits.
In this new study, researchers wanted to see if this was also true in obese girls. Researchers compared the health effects of aerobic exercise and weight lifting over three months to remaining sedentary.
Three groups involved in study:
• 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week for three months, either running on a treadmill or using an elliptical trainer.
• Aerobic exercise program, doing 10 whole body resistance exercises using weight machines over the course of each hour-long session.
• Stay sedative
Researchers found beneficial effects for both types of exercise. However the group that did aerobic exercise significant reductions in visceral fat and liver fat, as well as improvements in insulin sensitivity which is another risk factor for diabetes linked with obesity
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