The blood vessels of obese children show changes that can lead to heart disease later in life. However, research showed that these changes can be reversed through changing their diet and doing regular exercise.
The study was conducted on 82 overweight children. The children were put on a low-fat diet either alone or in combination with a structured exercise program for 6 weeks. After this period, all 41 children from the diet-only group and 22 of the 41 children from diet and exercise group continued their respective regiments for 1 year.
During the first 6 weeks, both groups of children did experience a drop in blood cholesterol levels and an improvement in blood vessel function. However, researchers noted that the beneficial effects on blood vessel function were more pronounced among children from the diet and exercise group, as compared with children from the diet-only group. At a later stage of the study, further improvements were noticed in blood vessel function of those children who continued their exercise programs. Fewer benefits were observed in children who were on the diet-only program.
This study provides conclusive evidence that blood vessel dysfunction in overweight children can be corrected by lifestyle modification including dietary changes and physical exercise.
No comments:
Post a Comment