Being a public health problem in modern society, obesity during adolescence is an increasingly universal disease that is turning into an epidemic. This study aimed to compare the effect of continuous aerobic and intermittent anaerobic physical exercise associated with nutritional orientation on weight reduction, body composition, biochemical measures and physical capacity of obese adolescents. 28 adolescents were investigated between 12 and 15 years old, and whose body mass index (BMI) is higher than 95 percent for age and gender. The volunteers were randomly distributed in two groups: walking continuous exercise (GEC; n = 13) and running intermittent exercise (GEI; n = 15) and were subject to a physical training program three times per week during 16 weeks, with duration from 20 to 40 minutes. Nutritional orientation occurred once per week, in 60-minute group sessions, throughout the entire experiment. In the initial and final periods, weight and height were measured so as to calculate the BMI, as well as subcutaneous fold, arm (AC) and arm muscle circumference (AMC), body composition by means of electric bioimpedance, biochemical serum analyses (glycemia and lipids), apart from the direct determination of maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) and anaerobic threshold (LAn) with a view to interpreting the physiological responses determined by aerobic and anaerobic training. In the two groups (GEC, GEI), anthropometric findings were decreased significant BMI and subcutaneous folds. In biochemical evaluation, a significant decrease occurred in GEC with respect to HDL, LDL and total cholesterol serum levels, although still within normal values. Values to HDL and triglicerids significant decrease in GEI VO2max values increased significant in both groups. We concluded that the physical activity proposed for both GEC and GEI was sufficient and satisfactory, promoting weight decrease, better body composition and lipid levels, as well as an increase in the adolescent's aerobic capacity.
Obesity; Adolescence; Aerobic and anaerobic exercise
