Youth Lifestyle Intervention With Food and Exercise

Children who are overweight or obese can develop many health complications including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and they break their bones more often than children who are of healthy body weights. Recent short-term studies in children suggest that increasing milk intake for 16 weeks begins to improve body composition and also reduces risk of developing diabetes. However, no study has been long enough to truly test for the benefits of high milk consumption on these conditions including bone. Both dietary and activity approaches to reducing obesity in children are suggested by health professionals and when combined are called lifestyle interventions. Therefore, McGill University has designed a 1-year intervention study focused on lifestyle improvements to reduce obesity in children 6 to 12 years of age. A control group will be monitored for the year, while two other groups will receive lifestyle interventions with standard recommended (2 servings a day) and high (4 servings a day) intakes of milk. The intervention will include 6 planning sessions to increase intakes of vegetables, fruits and milks along with more activity and less time watching television or using computerized games. Children will have muscle and fat measured using an x-ray device that also measures bone at the beginning, middle and end of the study. They will also have a small blood sample taken every 3 months to measure blood sugar, cholesterol and some nutrients. Changes over the study will demonstrate the benefits of lifestyle and milk interventions.