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Exercise Only Will Not Check Obesity In Young

Researchers said- Exercise only is dubious to check obesity in young children but it does improve their speed skills, may heighten their confidence and can establish a healthy life-long habit.

But more needs to be done to curtail the rising number of overweight and obese children in many parts of the world.

Professor John Reilly of the University of Glasgow in Scotland said "Changes in other behaviors, including diet, may also be compulsory."

Childhood obesity is a growing public health problem. Experts from Medical have cautioned that the young expanding waistlines will lead to an increase in children suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

Reilly and his team investigated the impact of increasing exercise in four-year-old children in Scotland to see if it would have an impact on their body mass index (BMI), which is used to determine if someone is overweight or obese, their distribution of body fat and blood pressure.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared.

Half of the 545 children from 36 nurseries took part in three 30-minute sessions of active play each week in addition to their usual activity. Parents were also encouraged to increase their children's physical activity at home.

The researchers compared the BMI readings of the children at six months in the program and after a year. They also assessed the youngsters' motor skills and buoyancy levels.

Reilly said "Physical activity can drastically improve motor skills but did not reduce body mass index in young children in this trial," and "It may take lots of exercise governed over a longer period of time to see effects."

Spending lots of time in front of computer and television screens, taking unhealthful diet and lack of exercise have been blamed for the mount in childhood obesity.

Research has exposed that overweight and obese children tend to carry their excess weight into adulthood, so health experts believe superseding early is vital to tackle the problem.

"Amalgamation of exercise and diet continual over long periods of time will have more of an impact on reducing childhood obesity."