Abstract
This study was conducted at the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt in 2010, to examine the effects of aerobic exercise in ventilatory functions in obese children. Forty obese children and 20 age and sex matched non obese control group were studied. Their age was ranging from 10 to 14 years. They were randomly assigned to study and control group. A child with a body mass index (BMI) in the 95th percentile or greater was considered to be obese. The study group (A) received aerobic exercise training on treadmill while children in the control group (B) did not participate in any intervention for 3 months. Pulmonary function test (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, MMEFR, and MBC) was used to measure lung functions in all children pre and post treatment. The results of this study revealed no significant difference was recorded between the two groups before treatment. While after 3 months, significant improvement was recorded in the two groups. There was also significant difference between the two groups in favor of the study group. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that, aerobic exercise training program had positive effects on lung functions in obese children.