A one‐year school‐based diet/exercise intervention improves non‐traditional disease biomarkers in Mexican‐American children

Abstract

School-based interventions are an effective way to treat childhood obesity. The purpose of the present study was to biologically validate an established school-based intervention designed to reduce standardised body mass index (zBMI) over a period of 12 months. This intervention focused on a subset of Mexican-American children who were participating in a larger clinical weight loss study. Plasma samples were analysed from self-identified Mexican-American children (12-14 years) who were randomised to either a school-based intervention (IN, n = 152) or self-help control (CN, n = 69). Treatment was 4 days week⁻¹ of exercise (45 min day⁻¹) and 1 day week⁻¹ of nutritional counselling for 6 months. Fasting (>8 h) blood samples were collected at baseline, 6 months (end of active intervention) and 12 months (6 months after the end of the active intervention). Plasma resistin, adiponectin and leptin concentration were measured using a multiplex assay. Separate linear mixed models and a P < 0.05 were used to test for significance. Significant group × time interactions were found for resistin (P < 0.0001), adiponectin (P = 0.001) and leptin (P = 0.013). For resistin, IN was 12% lower at 6 months than CN. Adiponectin concentration in IN was greater at 6 months (26%) and 12 months (8%) than CN. Leptin concentration was 22% lower for IN at 12 months than CN. We have previously reported that our school-based intervention reduced zBMI and now reported alterations in biologically relevant disease biomarkers. Some of the observed changes were only present at the end of the active intervention (resistin), while others persisted until 12 months (leptin and adiponectin). These changes underscore the effectiveness of our school-based intervention at not only improving zBMI but also at reducing disease risk.

Mexican American Children Have Differential Elevation of Metabolic Biomarkers Proportional to Obesity Status

“…We have previously demonstrated that weight gain and obesity alter the profile of monocytes in both humans and mice (9,21). Our findings with respect to leptin, MCP-1, and TNF-a are consistent with previous reports from our laboratory and others (9,10). This finding is interesting because it appears that leptin and MCP-1 may be more responsive to smaller differences in body fat than TNF-a.…”

“…The subjects in this study were participating in a larger clinical weight loss study that has been in existence since 2003 and has been described in a number of previous publications (6,(8)(9)(10)(11). The subjects attended a charter school, whose population was predominantly Mexican American (>95%).…”

Image-based Flow Cytometry Technique to Evaluate Changes in Granulocyte Function <em>In Vitro</em>

“…Our area of research focuses on a study of how exercise and dietary habits influence immune system health and function 6,[8][9][10][18][19][20] . Such objectives have significant practical implications for a variety of areas of human health.…”

“…Over the past ten years, our laboratory, among others, has been keenly focused on the effect of various nutritional and exercise treatments patterns on innate immune function [6][7][8][9] . The method demonstrated in this manuscript has practical implications within the field of clinical immunology.…”

Childhood obesity: risk factors, prevention and management

“…() reported that training of community workers to work with parents in delivering the Health Exercise Nutrition for the Really Young (HENRY) programme through Sure Start Centres had a number of benefits, including the provision of age‐appropriate portion sizes and increased staff confidence regarding tackling lifestyle changes and working with families. Schools provide numerous opportunities for prevention because it is possible to provide access to healthy meals and snacks (Madden et al ., ), exercise (McFarlin et al ., ), health education and more personalised interventions. Elizondo‐Montemayor et al .…”