Growth and Maturation: The Connection with Physical Activity to Obese Children

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.Childhood obesity is expected more serious in the 21st century. The etiology of obesity has been investigated for more than decades and nobody will argue that physical inactivity and high-energy intake are the two core factors. For the sake of prevention and treatment, it is imperative to look into the nature and health-related effects of physical activity towards obesity management. The objective of this chapter is to clarify the effects of physical activity participation on adolescents' body changes and avoid unrealistic expectations from it. The content is mainly focus upon the growth and maturation characteristics of adolescents who are regularly active in physical activity and the cardiovascular changes through physical activity.兒童肥胖問題在廿一世紀將會愈趨嚴重，在過去十多年來研究一直探討其成因，基本上運動與營養控制兩者一致被確認為決定性的因素。因此在預防與治療而言，運動對肥胖處理及治療的效果及性質上，深入的研究探討是必要的，本文旨在釐清兒童在成長過程中參與運動對身體變化的影響，以防止肥胖兒童對身體產生不切實際的期望。