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- Type 1
An intensive obesity-prevention program for Australian girls didn't lead to any improvements in their diet, physical activity or body weight a year later, according to a new report.
Findings from the school-based intervention, which involved exercise sessions and nutrition workshops for lower-income girls, are the latest disappointment in a slew of research attempting to head-off adult obesity -- and the disease risks that come with it.
Especially during the middle- and high-school years, girls' physical activity declines dramatically, according to lead researcher David Lubans, from the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia.
"We were fighting against a range of psychological, sociological, environmental and biological barriers," he told Reuters Health in an email.
In the future, he added, "we need to make the programs more appealing and exciting and present information in a way that is meaningful to adolescent girls."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/09/us-obesity-teen-girls-idUKBRE8481EB20120509
Findings from the school-based intervention, which involved exercise sessions and nutrition workshops for lower-income girls, are the latest disappointment in a slew of research attempting to head-off adult obesity -- and the disease risks that come with it.
Especially during the middle- and high-school years, girls' physical activity declines dramatically, according to lead researcher David Lubans, from the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia.
"We were fighting against a range of psychological, sociological, environmental and biological barriers," he told Reuters Health in an email.
In the future, he added, "we need to make the programs more appealing and exciting and present information in a way that is meaningful to adolescent girls."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/09/us-obesity-teen-girls-idUKBRE8481EB20120509