Date of Completion

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy

Keywords

Exercise, Obesity, Children

Abstract

Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk and is one of the most serious challenges in the 21st century. Cases of obesity have also been gradually increasing throughout the decade especially among children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity status among children and adolescents can be classified using body mass index (BMI) and other methods used in measuring body fats which provide satisfactory results to identify risks for obesity. The primary aim of this systematic review is to compare the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in improving the body composition of preadolescent children between the ages 9-14 and find which between the interventions would be the best exercise modality in improving the body composition of preadolescent obese children. The researchers gathered relevant studies published in PubMed, EBSCOhost, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect databases from the year 2010 until January 2021. RCTs with HIIT and MICT training protocol implemented are included, while other study designs (e.g., observational and scoping review) were excluded. Participants who were within the ages of 9 to 16 years old, male or female, with obesity (BMI >85th percentile or other similar criteria for overweight based on ideal body weight), and without contraindications to physical activity were included. Studies that have implemented HIIT versus MICT protocols with outcome measures related to obesity: body mass index (BMI) in kg.m-2, BMI z-score, % body fat (%BF), waist circumference (WC), skinfold measures (mm), and increase in muscle mass were also included. The data extracted from excluded studies include the title of the selected studies, author/s, date of publication, grade in the risk of bias (allocation concealment, blinding of participants), sample size, gender and age of the population, characteristics of the two interventions and components of body composition: body mass index (BMI) in kg/m-2, waist circumference (WC), skinfold measures (mm), BMI z-score, and % body fat (%BF). Study findings were considered statistically significant if P < 0.5 including a 95% confidence interval for effect size. The quality of all included studies was reviewed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, data was synthesized using RevMan v5 software, and the study was conducted by following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA). From the 2,193 studies that were initially screened, a total of 10 trials were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. Running and walking were found to be most frequently used for both HIIT and MICT interventions with intensity of 100% effort for HIIT and 40%-60% effort for MICT. An average frequency for both interventions ranges from 3-16 weeks. Overall, there was no significant difference on HIIT vs. MICT in improving body composition of pre-adolescent children (BMI, [SMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.43 to 0.03, p = 0.08]; BMI z-score [SMD = 0.17, 95% CI: -0.22 to 0.56, p = 0.41]; %BF [SMD = 0.11, 95% CI: -0.16 to 0.37, p=0.43], WC [SMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.63 to 0.23, p=0.36]). The current study was consistent with most recent evidence regarding the comparison of HIIT and MICT as to the body composition of obese children. HIIT and MICT has both been proven effective in improving the body composition in obesity. However, results of this study have shown that HIIT has no significant difference in improving the body composition as compared to MICT. Therefore, there is a need for further reviews that implement a larger methodologically-sound review in order to identify which between HIIT and MICT is more effective in improving body composition in pre-adolescent obese children. The proponents of this review recommend to future researchers to target a bigger sample size than the current review, the inclusion of RCTs which carried out a longer-term implementation of interventions and follow up. Additionally, other methodologies that could be beneficial for future reviews would be the inclusion of other valid and reliable outcome measures including contributing factors to obesity as well as other important outcomes such as overall physical fitness, social participation, and quality of life, other forms of measurement for body composition, and the application of different approaches in addressing the presence of bias in included studies which commonly are: selection bias, performance bias, and detection bias which the current study encountered.

First Advisor

Jorell Victor Angeles

Download

Share

COinS