Review Article

Does Regular Exercise without Weight Loss Reduce Insulin Resistance in Children and Adolescents?

Table 2

Aerobic exercise and insulin resistance (randomized controlled trials).

ReferencesGenderAgeTreatmentBW
(kg)
BMI
(kg/m2)
ISStudy
Duration
ProtocolΔBW
(kg)
ΔBMI
(kg/m2)
ΔIS
(%)
IS
Measure

Kelly et al. [51]9 boys
11 girls
11.0Control
exercise
73.5
75.4
30.5
32.1
6.0
6.2
8 wk4 times/wk, 30–50 min/session
50–80% of VO2 peak
0.8
1.1
−0.1
0.0
−2.8
5.2
2 h Glucose (OGTT)
(mmol/L)

Meyer et al. [42]47 boys
49 girls
12–16Control
exercise
NA31.0
29.8
4.4
3.9
6 mo3 days/wk, 60–90 min/day
swimming, games, and so forth
NA0.3
−2.6*
11.0
−20.8*
HOMA-IR

Kim et al. [52]
26 boys
(Korean)
17.0Control
exercise
90.4
89.7
29.4
29.6
2.9
2.5
6 wk5 days/wk, 40 min/day
Jump rope (60–90 jumps/min)
0.0
−2.2*
−0.3
−1.0*
−18.2
−33.6*
HOMA-IR

Savoye et al. [19]68 boys
106 girls
8–16Control
exercise
91.2
87.0
36.2
35.8
5.2
5.1
1 yrExercise & behavior modification.
>100 min/wk for the first 6 mo
>200 min/mo for the last 6 mo
65–80% of maximal HR
6 mo/1 yr
5.0/7.7
−2.6/0.3
6 mo/1 yr
1.1/1.6
−2.1/−1.7
6 mo/1 yr
6.1/16.8
−27.7/−27.8
HOMA-IR

Lee et al. [20]45 boys12–18Control
exercise
100.0
106.5
33.9
36.6
2.7
2.2
3 mo3 days/wk, 60 min/session
50~75% of VO2 peak
2.6* 
−0.04
0.3
−0.3
−3.7
18.2*†
Euglycemic clamp
(mL/kg/min per µU/min)

Davis et al. [21] 94 boys
128 girls
7–11Control
Low-dose exercise
High-dose exercise
NA26.3
25.9
25.6
2.5
2.2
2.4
10–15 wk5 days/wk, HR > 150 bpm
Low-dose: 20 min/day
High-dose: 40 min/day
NANAAdjusted mean diff. 0.11 (high versus low)
0.56 (low versus con.)
0.67 (high versus con.)
Matsuda index of insulin sensitivity

BMI: body mass index; BW: body weight; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; IS: insulin sensitivity; OGTT: oral glucose tolerance test; Δ: Change score.
*Significantly different from baseline within each group ( ).
Significantly different from controls or other groups ( ).