The Effects of Physical Activity on Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents: A Literature Review

Sammanfattning: Background: The incidence of obesity among children and adolescents over the past ten
years has increased dramatically and continues to increase. Despite recommendations from the WHO has scheduled physical activity (PA) during school hours reduced. Even in the home the sedentary behavior has increased as the use of electronic devices has increased. Children and young people's participation in physical activity during leisure time has declined and given place to "screen time".
Purpose: The purpose of this study was that through a literature review examine the effects of PA, diet, behavior therapy and sedentary behavior, and what reasons there are to obesity in children and adolescents.
Method: Data collection via article search in databases. Reviewing of the 28 included studies was made by Pedro scale.
Results: The results of this literature review shows that PA articles significantly can alter body composition. It also shows that dieting along with PA is significantly more effective than just PA. However, the majority of the articles show that the best results for changes in body composition and BMI are reached through combining PA with diet and behavior therapy. Most of the articles showed a significant association between sedentary behavior and obesity. Lack of awareness among parents, children and adolescents may be causes for obesity. Studies showed that the school has a major impact on the total time the PA. Conclusion: In order to achieve weight loss and behavioral change in children and adolescents are multi-disciplinary efforts the most effective.