Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of a Combined Intervention of Rope Skipping and Nutrition Education for Overweight Children in Northeast China

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether an exercise intervention, nutrition education, or the combination of both were effective in weight reduction and maintenance for rural school children. Two hundred twenty-nine primary school children aged 9 to 12 years determined as overweight/obese were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: exercise intervention, nutrition education, combination of both, and control. Nutrition education and rope-skipping sessions were performed for 2 months. Anthropometric measurements were administered at baseline, after 2 months (postintervention), and 1 year later (follow-up). The order of change from high to low in the body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) between postintervention and baseline was combined intervention, exercise intervention, and nutrition education. The BMI-SDS between following-up and baseline was for combined intervention, exercise intervention, and nutrition education. The combined intervention had the best short-term and long-term effects. The exercise intervention had a better short-term effect than nutrition education, while nutrition education had a better long-term effect than the exercise intervention.