Physical Activity, Health and Nutrition 71
1
obese, on blood pressures in the hypertensive,
and on insulin, triglycerides and adiposity in
obese youth with the metabolic syndrome- Many indicators of health and fitness, espe-
cially metabolic risk, are affected by obesity. A
key issue is the prevention of unhealthy weight
gain early in childhood and the potential role
of PA [14] - Interventional/experimental PA studies gen-
erally focus on outcomes. There is a need to
consider the level of PA needed to maintain
beneficial outcomes, as it may differ from that
needed to trigger beneficial outcomes - Most interventional/experimental protocols
use continuous PA, except for studies of bone
health and muscular strength and endurance.
Activities of children, especially young chil-
dren, are largely intermittent. Potential health
benefits of high-intensity, intermittent proto-
cols need study- Activity needs vary with age during childhood
and adolescence: young children need variety
in PA with opportunities to develop and refine
movement skills in the context of free play;
children more proficient in motor skills tend
to be more physically active; with the transi-
tion into puberty and adolescence, the capac-
ity for continuous activities increases and ac-
tivity can be more prescriptive with emphasis
on health and fitness
12 Nassis GP, Papantakou K, Skenderi K,
Triandafillopoulou M, Kavouras SA, et
al: Aerobic exercise training improves
insulin sensitivity without changes in
body weight, body fat, adiponectin, and
inflammatory markers in overweight
and obese girls. Metab Clin Exp 2005; 54:
1472–1479.
13 Carrel AL, Clark RR, Peterson S, Eick-
hoff J, Allen DB: School-based fitness
changes are lost during the summer va-
cation. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;
161: 561–564.
14 Malina RM: Childhood and adolescent
physical activity and risk of obesity in
adulthood; in Bouchard C, Katzmarzyk
PT (eds): Advances in Physical Activity
and Obesity. Champaign, Human Kinet-
ics, 2010, pp 111–113, 376–377.
15 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory
Committee: Physical activity guidelines
advisory committee report 2008, part G,
section 9: youth. Washington, US De-
partment of Health and Human Servic-
es, 2008. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines.References1 Malina RM: Biocultural factors in devel-
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DOI: 10.1159/000360318