School-based soccer practice is an effective strategy to improve cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in overweight children

• Autor(a) principal: Seabra, André
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Brito, João, Figueiredo, Pedro, Beirão, Liliana, Seabra, Ana, Carvalho, Maria José, Abreu, Sandra, Vale, Susana, Pedretti, Augusto, Nascimento, Henrique, Belo, Luís, Rêgo, Carla
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.24/1834
• topic: Age Factors; Biomarkers; Blood Pressure; Body Composition; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors; Case-Control Studies; Child; Health Status; Humans; Lipids; Male; Pediatric Obesity; Portugal; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Weight Loss; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Physical Education and Training; School Health Services; Soccer

We examined the effects of a 6-month school-based soccer programme on cardiovascular (CV) and metabolic risk factors in overweight children. Methods: 40 boys [8-12 years; body mass index (BMI) >2 standard deviations of WHO reference values] participated in complementary school-based physical education classes (two sessions per week, 45-90 min each). The participants were divided into a soccer group (SG; n = 20) and a control group (CG; n = 20). The SG intervention involved 3 extra-curricular school-based soccer sessions per week, 60-90 min each. The intervention lasted for 6-months. All measurements were taken at baseline and after 6-months. From baseline to 6-months, the SG significantly improved (p < .05) BMI z-score, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, percentage of fat mass, percentage of fat-free mass, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but no such improvements were observed for the CG. After the intervention, the prevalence of soccer participants with normal waist-to-height ratio (30 vs. 5%; p = .037), systolic blood pressure (90 vs. 55%; p = .039), total cholesterol (80 vs. 65%; p = .035) and LDL-C (90 vs. 75%; p = .012) were significantly higher than at baseline. The findings suggest that a 6-month school-based soccer intervention program represents an effective strategy to reduce CV and metabolic risk factors in overweight children prepared to take part in a soccer program.