Predictors of 6-minute walk test and 12-minute walk/run test in obese children and adolescents.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of the distance achieved during a 6-minute walk test and a 12-minute walk/run test (Cooper test) in obese children and adolescents and to evaluate the influence of a residential treatment on the association of these predictors with the distance. A search of the Revalidation Centre Zeepreventorium (De Haan, Belgium) medical records database of all children and adolescents (age 10 to 18 yrs) treated for obesity between September 2003 and February 2006, revealed 65 charts with all relevant data (anthropometrical, maximal graded exercise, lung function, 6-minute walk test and 12-minute walk/run test) at admission as well as after 3 months treatment. The multidisciplinary treatment has a positive influence on anthropometrical variables, endurance capacity, vital capacity, and residual volume (p < 0.

Changes in physical activity and psychosocial determinants of physical activity in children and adolescents treated for obesity.

The purpose of this study was to describe changes in physical activity and determinants in youngsters treated for obesity. Self-reported physical activity and determinants were assessed at start, during and after an intervention in 24 obese patients (mean age 13.5+/-2.

Inpatient treatment of obese children: a multicomponent programme without stringent calorie restriction.

Unlabelled: This prospective clinical case-control study describes the effect of an inpatient multicomponent treatment programme for obese children and adolescents on their weight and psychological well being. We studied 38 patients and 38 controls on the waiting list, matched for age and gender, referred because of obesity, with a median age of 13 years (range 10-17 years) and a median adjusted body mass index (BMI) of 173% (range 130%-257%). The treatment consisted of a 10-month inpatient programme focussing on attaining a healthy lifestyle by increasing physical activity and offering a healthy diet within a cognitive-behavioural framework.