Effects of an exercise intervention using Dance Dance Revolution on endothelial function and other risk factors in overweight children.

Objective. To determine whether an exercise intervention using an active video game (Dance Dance Revolution™ [DDR]) is effective in improving endothelial dysfunction (EDF) and other risk factors in overweight children. Design. Thirty-five children (Body mass index ≥ 85th percentile, mean age 10.21±1.67 years, 17 females) with EDF were assessed for flow-mediated dilation (FMD), lipids, insulin, glucose, NO2+NO3, asymmetric dimethylarginine, symmetric dimethylarginine, l-arginine, height, weight, aerobic fitness, and blood pressure. In a subsample, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and adiponectin were also assessed. Subjects were randomly assigned to 12-weeks of aerobic exercise (EX) using DDR or to a non-exercising delayed-treatment control group (DTC). Results. EX had significant improvements in FMD ( 5.56±5.04% compared with 0.263±4.54%, p=0.008), exercise time on the graded exercise test (53.59±91.54 compared with −12.83±68.10 seconds, p=0.025), mean arterial pressure (MAP...