Cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents with obesity: a 6-month follow-up study

Resumen

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the effects of a multidisciplinary intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness are maintained after 6-month follow-up in adolescents with obesity. One-hundred and seven adolescents with obesity were intentionally allocated in two groups: experimental or control. Adolescents in experimental group underwent a multidisciplinary intervention (supervised aerobic exercise, psychological, nutritional, and clinical counseling). Cardiorespiratory fitness (direct gas analysis), body composition (dual-energy-DXA), anthropometry and blood lipids were measured before intervention (baseline), at the end of the 24-week intervention (post-intervention) and six months after the end of the intervention (follow-up). Cardiorespiratory fitness reduced in control group with no changes in experimental group, and these differences were maintained in the follow-up assessment (control group: 24.2±4.4 ml.kg^-1.min^-1 to 22.6±4.9 ml.kg^-1.min^-1; follow-up: 22.6±4.9 ml.kg^-1.min^-1 vs. experimental group: 28.0±4.0 ml.kg^-1.min^-1 to 29.7±4.0 ml.kg^-1.min^-1; follow-up: 28.9±5.7 ml.kg^-1.min^-1). Reductions in z-score body mass index (BMI) and increases HDL-C after multidisciplinary intervention were maintained after a 6-month follow-up. In conclusion, the benefits of a multidisciplinary intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI and blood lipids are maintained after a 6-month follow-up. These findings indicate that multidisciplinary interventions produce long-term health consequences. Reinforcing the importance of lifestyle changes as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of obesity in adolescents.