By Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) — Exercise appears lesslikely to prevent obesity among black teenage girls than theirwhite peers, a new study shows. British researchers who gauged the effect of exercise on more than1,100 girls, aged 12 to 14, surmised that black teen girls may beless sensitive than white teen girls to the effects of physicalactivity to prevent obesity. "Higher levels of physical activity were associated withlower risk of obesity among white girls but not among blackgirls," wrote study authors James White and Russell Jago. This is of concern because obesity rates are increasing at agreater rate among black teen girls than other U.S. youths, puttingthem at greater risk for heart disease, according to backgroundinformation in the study. Black American girls were 80 percent morelikely than white girls to be overweight in 2007-2010, the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services' Office of MinorityHealth reported. And about four out of five black American womenare overweight or obese. "At present, we don't know whether these differencescan be attributed to genetics," said White, a researcher atCardiff University in Wales. While other studies have found blackgirls consume more calories than white girls, he said this studytook those differences into account, suggesting there may be otherreasons. "These may be genetic, but we don't reallyknow," he said. However, at least one expert believes the study results may reflectlifestyle differences, which can be addressed, not just genetics. White and Jago, of the University of Bristol in England, evaluateddata on girls who participated in the long-running National Heart,Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. The researchers were looking at factors associated with obesity andthe development of heart disease risk factors. For this study, published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine , the research team focused on 538 black girls and 610 white girlsfor whom they had data on physical activity, obesity and othermeasures. The girls' overall level of physical activity was measuredfor three days with a device that could detect frequency ofmovement and speed. Their TV viewing hours, height, weight,body-mass index (BMI), percent of body fat and daily calorie intakewere also recorded. BMI, a calculation based on height and weight,is a reference used to determine obesity. At age 12, the activity levels were higher in white girls than inblack girls. The black girls had a higher BMI and body fatpercentage, and ate more calories daily. They also watched more TV:The median — meaning half watched more, half watched less— was 44.3 hours a week for black girls vs. 24.5 for whitegirls. Median daily caloric intake was slightly higher for black girls— 1,912 vs. 1,906 for white girls. At 12 years of age, 14 percent of the black girls were obese,compared to 4.3 percent of the white girls. At 14 years, 15.6percent of the black girls and 5.1 percent of the white girls wereobese. That no link was found between physical activity levels and obesityamong black girls is consistent with other research showing thatfat-burning rates in response to physical activity are lower inblack girls during puberty and adulthood than in whites. Lifestyle issues, rather than genetics, may partly explain theresults, said Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with theAmerican Council on Exercise. Noting that black girls watch much more TV than white girls, hesaid, "That would be one area to change." They couldshut off the TV and get exercise, "but the neighborhood maynot be conducive," he said. Parent education and income might affect the results, too, McCallspeculated. More than half the parents of white girls had a collegedegree, but fewer than one-quarter of the black girls'parents did. The incomes of white girls' parents were higher,too. "College education and income levels [of the parents] canplay a role in the amount of physical activity a persongets," he added. The authors noted that the black girls began menstruating earlierthan the whites, which could also influence weight gain. Encouraging black teen girls to exercise is still important, butdifferent approaches may be needed to prevent obesity in blackgirls, the authors said. "Our findings require replication before any realrecommendations can be made," White said. "They do,however, suggest that black girls should be particularly attentivein controlling their caloric intake." More information To learn more about obesity and black Americans, visit the U.S. Office of Minority Health . SOURCES: Pete McCall, exercise physiologist, American Council onExercise, San Diego; James White, Ph.D., researcher, University ofBristol, England; June 2012, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Last Updated: June 07, 2012 Copyright 2012 HealthDay . All rights reserved. I am an expert from custom-textileprinting.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Sleeping Eye Mask , China Wall Pocket Organizer, Decorative Pillow Fabric,and more.
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