Abstract:

In the latest decades, obesity has become a global public health issue. Its prevalence among adolescence has increased over the time, leading to negative consequences in various health parameters and to higher risk of development of chronic noncommunicable diseases. In order to respond to the increased need of promoting health from early ages, school-based health programs have emerged as a cornerstone for researchers, practitioners, and governmental entities. In line with this growing trend, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based multidisciplinary program (the CENLO program) on body composition (BC) indicators, physical activity (PA) levels, energy expenditure (EE), sleep, hormonal parameters, and anxiety symptoms in schoolers suffering from obesity. The design was quasi-experimental. The sample was formed intentionally starting from a database on obesity prevalence in a population of 847 adolescents (13 ± 2 years old) from Mexican secondary schools. A total of 62 adolescents were randomly distributed in a Control Group (CG), an Experimental Group 1 (EG1) and an Experimental Group 2 (EG2). EG1 participated in four 60-minute sessions/week PA and a weekly nutritional orientation session; EG2 received the same treatment as EG1, in addition to two 40-minute weekly sessions of light therapy; CG carried out regular school activities as planned in their official school calendar. BC variables were analyzed using BOD POD, PA and sleep were monitored by accelerometer (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT) for seven consecutive days. Capillary and salivary samples were taken for the analysis of hormonal parameters (insulin, cortisol, and melatonin) using the ELISA technique. Finally, participants responded to the State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire. The results showed significantly improved Fat-Free Mass (%) and BMI-Z at post-test for both EG groups. Additionally, both EGs obtained significantly higher scores in all PA-related variables at post-test. Total time in bed (TBT), Wakefulness After Sleep Onset (WASO), and Total Sleep Time (TST) also improved in both EGs compared to the CG. Moreover, cortisol (ng/ml) and melatonin (pg/ml) showed better values in both EGs in comparison with CG at post-test. However, changes in insulin (pg/ml) were not significant among the three group. Finally, state anxiety remained unchanged after the program, whereas trait anxiety improved significantly in the EGs. Our results support the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches promoting simultaneously the development of active habits and adherence to adequate quality nutrition with the aim of reducing both physical and metabolic parameters of obesity in school-aged youth. However, the additional use of innovative methods, such as, in our case, light therapy, seems not to add significant changes on such parameters, and, therefore, these methods should be further investigated before their incorporation in health programs for youngsters.

Keywords:

Obesity, body composition, physical activity, sleep, hormonal profile, anxiety, adolescents, school.