EFFECT OF MENTOR-LED VIGOROUS AEROBIC EXERCISE PROGRAM ON BODY COMPOSITION, PEAK VO2, AND INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE ADOLESCENTS By

In the past few decades obesity rates in the US have reached epidemic proportions in both adults and children. Nearly one-third of American adults are obese, and since 1980, the obesity rates for children 6-11 years and 12-19 have nearly tripled (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Obesity in adults and children is associated with abnormal lipid profiles, insulin resistance and low cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE). The link between disease risk and low CRE has been well established in adults and to a lesser extent in children and adolescents. The PURPOSE of this study was to evaluate the effect of a mentor-led vigorous aerobic exercise program on insulin resistance, body composition, and peak VO2 in overweight and obese adolescents. METHODS Subjects (n=23) for the study were randomly assigned to two groups. Eleven participants were assigned exercise mentors and exercised approximately three times per week for 45 to 60 minutes each session. An additional 12 adolescents were randomly assigned to a control group. Body composition, Peak VO2, and HOMA-IR levels were assessed at pre-, post-, and follow-up testing. A 2 (control vs. experimental) x 3 (pre-, post-, follow-up) repeated measures analyzes of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data using the MANOVA procedure in JMP®. RESULTS No significant intervention effect was observed for body composition measures. Significant effects were observed in Peak VO2max (p = 0.0066) and tota