The National After-School Athletics Program Participation as a Tool to Reduce the Risk of Obesity in Adolescents after One Year of Intervention: A Nationwide Study

Dominika Głąbska, Dominika Guzek, Blanka Mellová, Katarzyna Zadka, Katarzyna Żywczyk and Krystyna Gutkowska
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Dominika Głąbska: Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Dominika Guzek: Department of Organization and Consumption Economics, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Blanka Mellová: Nutrition, Health and Wellness Unit, Nestlé Polska S.A., 32 Domaniewska Street, 02-672 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Zadka: Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Żywczyk: Nutrition, Health and Wellness Unit, Nestlé Polska S.A., 32 Domaniewska Street, 02-672 Warsaw, Poland
Krystyna Gutkowska: Department of Organization and Consumption Economics, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Regular exercise during school hours is encouraged; however many children and adolescents fail to meet the recommendations during this time. Extracurricular activities may be a more appealing way for youth to achieve guidelines, and it is recommended that they attend two sessions each week. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of participation in a national physical activity program accompanied by nutritional education for trainers on the risk of obesity and body composition in a nationwide sample of boys and girls, after one year of intervention. The #goathletics Study was conducted in a group of 1014 adolescents aged 12–13: 507 individuals for the Athletics for All program (210 boys, 297 girls) and 507 pair-matched individuals not participating in any physical activity program (matching including: gender, age, city of residence). The body mass (kg), Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m 2 ), waist circumference (WC) (cm), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (-) and body composition (%) (measured using bioelectrical impedance method) were compared in a gender-related sub-groups using t -Student test (for parametric distributions) or Mann-Whitney U test (for nonparametric distributions) and chi 2 test (for the share of sub-groups). After one year of intervention, lower body mass percentile, BMI percentile, WC, WHtR and fat mass share, higher muscle mass share, as well as lower frequency of overweight/obesity and abdominal fat distribution were observed both for boys and girls participating in the physical activity intervention compared to the pair-matched controls. The after-school physical activity program accompanied by nutritional education for trainers may be a highly effective method for reducing the risk of obesity both for boys and girls, as regular participation is ensured.

Keywords: body mass; waist circumference; body composition; fat mass; muscle mass; physical activity; adolescents; #goathletics Study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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