Exercise energy compensation in adolescent girls
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The influence of a chronic twelve week exercise intervention on subsequent compensatory behaviours and body composition in adolescent girls
IRAS ID
152981
Contact name
Keith Tolfrey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Loughborough University
Research summary
The aim of this study is to assess compensatory behaviours in response to a long term exercise programme in inactive adolescent girls (12 to 15 years). ’Compensation’ refers to behaviours that negate the positive health benefits of increasing physical activity, for example an increase in food energy intake or reduction in further ’free-living’ physical activity energy expenditure. Low levels of physical activity and sitting time (sedentary) are more common in children and adolescents. Increasing physical activity and exercise can help to prevent or improve some of the health problems (e.g., increased body weight and fat) and low physical fitness linked to low activity and too much sitting time. We want to help improve young people’s health using exercise; however, there is evidence in adults of exercise-induced compensation after starting a chronic exercise programme. Thus, they may negate the potential positive effects of the exercise programme. It has been reported that the compensation occurs after three or four weeks of exercise; hence, a longer exercise programme and monitoring of these behaviours is required than existing short-term studies. A precise and valid measurement of body fat and lean (muscle) tissue is needed for this research and dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is one of the best to achieve this.
The participants assigned to the exercise intervention group will undergo a twelve week exercise programme. The controls will continue with normal daily activities throughout the intervention ensuring accountability of growth and maturation.
The study benefits include accruing health benefits from the exercise programme, improving knowledge of maintaining healthy levels of fat and lean tissue, and will potentially aid future research into compensatory behaviours (e.g. how to offset these negative behaviours and to determine if some girls are more likely to compensate than others).
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/0205
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion