TITLE:
Physical and Psychological Well-Being in Overweight Children Participating in a Long-Term Intervention Based on Judo Practice
AUTHORS:
Wiebke Geertz, Anna-Sophie Dechow, Elzbieta Pohl, Birgit-Christiane Zyriax, Rainer Ganschow, Karl-Heinz Schulz
KEYWORDS:
Childhood Obesity, Exercise Intervention, Physical Performance, Mental Health, Judo
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.7 No.1,
February
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: There is an increase of inactivity and overweight in children and adolescents which has a negative impact on their physical, motoric, emotional and cognitive development. This study examines changes in physical fitness and psychological well-being after participation in an intervention program offering a weekly professionally guided judo practice especially for overweight and obese children and adolescents. 26 overweight or obese children and adolescents (age 7 - 14) completed on average 28 sessions of judo training over a course of 12 months. Subjects completed a physical examination (stability, body composition, leg strength) and an assessment of psychological well-being (health-related quality of life, mental health problems) prior to entering the study, after 6 months and after completion of the training. We found significant changes in stability (p