Exercise Lowers BP in Kids and Adolescents With Obesity

TOPLINE:

Exercise interventions are beneficial in reducing blood pressure (BP) levels in children with overweight or obesity, with pronounced effects noted in girls, those with obesity, and those participating in high-intensity interval training or exercising.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials to quantify the effectiveness of exercise interventions on BP, which included 819 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years with overweight or obesity.
• Data were extracted from PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and CINAHL databases from inception to July 2024.
• Participants either received exercise interventions, including aerobic and noncompetitive activities such as jump rope, soccer, football, running, swimming, and walking (experimental group; n = 472), varying in duration from 6 to 24 weeks, or did not (control group; n = 347).
• Exercise interventions were categorized on the basis of type, intensity, and interval into high-intensity interval training, moderate-intensity interval training, and moderate-intensity continuous training.
• The primary outcome was a change in systolic or diastolic BP from baseline to the end of the intervention.

TAKEAWAY:

• Exercise interventions led to a significant reduction in systolic BP (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.71; P P
• In a subgroup analysis, BP reductions were greater in girls, those with obesity, and those participating in high-intensity interval training or exercising for a total time of at least 3000 minutes during the study.
• Greater improvements in systolic BP were noted for exercise sessions lasting less than 60 minutes, while sessions of at least 60 minutes benefited diastolic BP.

IN PRACTICE:

“By comparing the effects of various modalities and durations of exercise interventions on reducing BP [blood pressure], we identified specific exercise patterns that have profound effects among targeted populations, which could inform health workers and educators in developing feasible and effective exercise programs that address both obesity and elevated BP simultaneously,” the authors wrote. “It is pivotal for children and adolescents to develop the habit of regular exercise, with the combined efforts of the community, school, and family,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Jiali Zhou, MPH, of the Center for Clinical Big Data and Statistics of the Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. It was published online on January 23, 2025, in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

LIMITATIONS:

The findings may have been influenced by heterogeneity in the interventions resulting from the inclusion of a large number of studies. BP measurements were mostly taken on a single occasion, which may have resulted in outcome variability and inaccuracy. The inclusion of only English and Chinese publications could have introduced publication bias.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.