Exercise & Overweight Children's Cognition

Exercise & Overweight Children's Cognition

This research focuses on overweight, sedentary children whose health, cognition, and academic performance are therefore at risk, and who may be particularly responsive to exercise interventions.

This study will determine whether regular exercise per se (i.e. compared to attention control, or placebo, condition) benefits children's cognition and achievement, and will provide insight into neural mechanisms. A substudy will examine exercise-induced changes in brain structure.

Provision of comprehensive evidence for the benefits of exercise on children's health may reduce barriers to vigorous physical activity programs during a childhood obesity epidemic by persuading policymakers, schools and communities that time spent in physical activity enhances, rather than detracts from, learning.

An ancillary study adding cardiometabolic outcome measures was added (R01HL087923-02S1, http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project\_info\_description.cfm?aid=7880457\&icde=20104167)

Inclusion Criteria:

• 8-11 years of age
• Overweight or obese (BMI-for-age >= 85th percentile)
• Able to participate in exercise testing and intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical condition or medications that would interfere with measurements
• Participation in weight control or formal exercise program outside physical education that meets more than 1 day/week
• T-score > 75 on the BRIEF Behavior Regulation scale to avoid program disruption