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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of 3 isocaloric exercise programs on cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning in children. Methods: One hundred nine children (39% boys and 61% girls) aged 10–13 years (mean 11.07 ± 0.81) were conveniently assigned to 1 of 4 groups as follows: Moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT; n = 29) at 65–70% of the predicted maximum heart rate (MHR), High-intensity interval training (HIIT; n = 29) at > 80% of the predicted MHR, HIIT and MICT combined on alternate weeks (ALT; n = 27), and a control group (n = 24). Morning ANS activity was assessed via analysis of heart rate variability (HRV), with the patient in supine position for 10 min, before and after the exercise intervention. Data Analysis: A 2-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate the effects of training on all HRV parameters (p < 0.05/4 = 0.0125). Results: After 5 weeks of training, significant improvements were observed for ln of the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (p < 0.0001), ln of the root mean square of successive difference (p < 0.0001), and ln of standard deviation 1 (p < 0.0001), with superior results reported in the HIIT group (effect size [ES] = 2.22, 2.69, and 2.69) compared with the MICT (ES = 1.67, 1.75, and 1.75) and ALT (ES = 0.87, 1.06, and 1.06) groups, respectively. Conclusion: Short-term HIIT seems to induce superior alterations in cardiac ANS activity compared to MICT and ALT in children through enhanced vagal activity.

Physical activity (PA) practices among South African (SA) school learners are reported to be insufficient to promote health and prevent chronic diseases. [1] SA's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth [1] indicates that <50% of learners (6-18 years) meet the recommended amount of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) a day. [1] Low PA levels are partly responsible for the obesity epidemic that threatens the wellness of the SA population and the country's economy. Research indicates that 31.9% of SA learners aged 6-13 years are overweight and 8.1% are obese. [2] A more recent study classified 15-25% of 9-10-year-old SA learners as overweight or obese. [3] Major healthcare challenges are deemed to arise from populations that are physically inactive, and it is reported that physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor contributing to global mortality. [4] Physical inactivity may be responsible for 22% of ischaemic heart disease, 14% of type 2 diabetes mellitus, 16% of colon cancer, 11% of ischaemic stroke and 10% of breast cancer. [5] In addition, several studies have shown a positive association between physical inactivity and healthcare costs. [6-7] Objective Establishing profiles of PA is critical for intervention research that will aid in tackling the chronic diseases associated with physical inactivity and avoiding healthcare costs. This study examined the prevalence of PA in SA learners, detailing differences between gender, ethnicity, age and region. Updating PA profiles of SA learners may provide awareness around and contribute towards achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. [8] Methods Participants Seven thousand, three hundred and forty-eight SA learners (3 867 males and 3 481 females) aged 8-14 years completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) between August and November 2012. The mean age was 11.14 years (standard deviation (SD) 1.46). School principals in seven provinces (Gauteng, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumulanga) provided written or verbal consent prior to participation. Learners were categorised by ethnic group as white (Caucasian descent, n=3 634), black (African descent, n=2 857) or other (coloured or Indian descent, n=857). The learners were mainly white (49%) and black (39%) and from NorthWest (29%) and Gauteng (27%) provinces. For the purpose of the study, we defined 'urban area' as a locality characterised by a range of public and private service providers with a population of >15 000 inhabitants. [9,10] The University of Zululand's research ethics committee provided ethical clearance for the study (ref. no. 171110-030). This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Background: Exergaming is an ideal vehicle for promoting regular physical activity among children who may be reluctant to participate in traditional types of exercise. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks of exergaming and traditional video gaming on body composition and cardiovascular fitness variables among overweight and obese children. Methods: Thirty-one overweight and obese children (11.40 ± 0.86 years) were recruited from three primary schools in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Participants were assigned to either an exergaming group (n = 11), traditional gaming group (n = 10) or control group (n = 10). Body composition variables (body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)) and cardiovascular fitness variables (resting heart rate (RHR), resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak)) were measured. A paired sample t-test was used to determine changes from baseline to post-assessment within each group. Results: No significant improvements were observed in BMI percentile among the exergaming group (P = 0.25), traditional gaming group (P = 0.06) and control group (P = 0.25). Waist-to-hip ratio significantly decreased following exergaming (P = 0.050), but not following traditional gaming (P = 0.060) and in control group (P = 0.200). Significant improvement in RHR was found in the exergaming group (P = 0.010), but none in the traditional gaming group (P = 0.280) and control group (P = 0.720). No significant improvements were noted in resting SBP following exergaming (P = 0.790), traditional video gaming (P = 0.730) and in the control group (P = 0.610). Diastolic blood pressure did not significantly improve in the exergaming group (P = 0.070), traditional video gaming group (P = 0.360) or control group (P = 0.100). Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) did not significantly improve in the exergaming group (P = 0.830), traditional gaming group (P = 0.710) or control group (P = 0.450). Conclusions: Findings indicate that six weeks of exergaming induced favorable changes in waist-to-hip ratio and RHR among overweight and obese children. Thereby demonstrating that non-traditional modes of exercise such as exergaming can be used as an alternative to traditional modes of exercise to induce somebody composition and cardiovascular changes.