The impact of recreational beach tennis associated with nutritional counseling on cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents: a randomized clinical trial.

In 30 seconds

This 12-week randomized clinical trial compared recreational beach tennis alone with beach tennis plus nutritional counseling in 40 adolescents aged 11–14 years. Both groups had higher HDL cholesterol, with no significant between-group difference in that outcome. Fasting glucose decreased only in the combined-intervention group, and between-group changes in triglycerides, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and systolic blood pressure favored beach tennis plus counseling. LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and insulin did not change significantly. The findings suggest that adding nutritional counseling may broaden the cardiometabolic benefits of recreational sport in adolescents.

Key findings

• HDL cholesterol increased by +3.8 mg/dL with beach tennis and +5.9 mg/dL with beach tennis plus counseling; there was no between-group difference.
• Fasting glucose decreased only in the beach tennis plus counseling group.
• Between-group changes in triglycerides (p < 0.01), waist circumference (p < 0.001), body fat percentage (p < 0.05), and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) favored the combined intervention.
• No significant changes occurred in LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, or insulin.

Why it matters

The trial indicates that recreational physical activity can improve HDL cholesterol in adolescents, while adding nutritional counseling may yield broader changes across cardiometabolic risk measures. This supports evaluating lifestyle interventions as combined approaches rather than assuming that sport alone affects all relevant risk factors. The results are relevant to prevention efforts, although the trial’s size and duration limit the strength of broader conclusions.

What to keep in mind

The trial included 40 adolescents and lasted 12 weeks, limiting the precision and duration of conclusions about cardiometabolic effects.