On National Day for Fighting Against Obesity, celebrated this year on the 18th of May, we present the pilot study ‘GicO - Gymnastics against Obesity’, which is part of a research project led by the University of Coimbra dedicated to fighting and preventing obesity and overweight.

34 children aged 6-7 years old, from the Gymnastics Section of the Coimbra Academic Association, are taking part in the ‘GicO - Gymnastics against Obesity’ pilot study. The objective is to develop integrated programs for the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and their families.

GicO, which started earlier this year, is part of the research project PAS GRAS: de-risking metabolic, environmental and behavioural determinants of obesity in children, adolescents and young adults, funded by the European Commission with around 9.5 million euros.

Initially, participants undergo a series of assessments, including physical, functional, and body composition tests. Then, ‘literacy activities, physical activities, among others’ are built from the researchers' interaction with the children, explains PAS GRAS coordinator Paulo Oliveira. It's the gymnasts ‘who help us build this pilot study, that will later be used to expand to other young populations,’ adds the researcher from the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra (CNC-UC).

Food is also being addressed in this pilot study. Through drawings and games, it was possible to see that the children ‘have good knowledge about a wide variety of foods’, reveals one of GicO's coordinators, Anabela Marisa Azul. It's clear ‘that the children participate in the family's daily activities, namely in the kitchen,’ adds the CNC-UC researcher.

Over the course of a year and a half, the tests are repeated at three different time points to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed activities program.

GicO involves an interdisciplinary research team: around 30 researchers from different fields, such as sports, biomedicine, ecology, medicine, anthropology, nutrition, health geography, communication, illustration, design, and multimedia.

Watch a video about this pilot study here.

Ana Bartolomeu and Catarina Ribeiro.