Mo-suwan et al. (1998) conducted a 30 week study investigating
the effects of an exercise intervention on markers of
body fatness in children (baseline age 4.5 ± 0.4 y). The intervention
comprised a 15 min walk before morning class
and a 20 min aerobic dance session following the afternoon
nap, both performed 3 times per week; the control group
participated in normal kindergarten activities, without the
added aerobic dance. The likelihood of an increasing BMI
slope (i.e., rate of BMI increase over time) was 68% less
likely for girls in the intervention group than for the controls.
In contrast, the intervention had no effect on the boys;
indeed, the sum of triceps skinfolds was even slightly higher
Table 4.
in the exercise than in the control group