Related Experiment Videos
Longitudinal changes in young people's short-term power output.
N Armstrong1, J R Welsman, C A Williams
1Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. N.Armstrong@exeter.ac.uk
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|June 22, 2000
Summary
Body mass and skin-fold thickness are key predictors of short-term power output in youth, surpassing age and stature. Gender differences exist in power development, with boys generally outperforming girls.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric sports science
- Human performance analysis
- Anthropometry and physiology
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing young athletes' power is crucial for training and development.
- Previous research has explored various anthropometric and maturational variables, but their combined predictive power requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of age, body size, skin-fold thickness, gender, and maturation on short-term power output in adolescents.
- To identify the most significant anthropometric predictors of anaerobic power in young individuals.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multilevel modeling to analyze data from 97 boys and 100 girls (mean age 12.2 years).
- Assessed peak power (PP) and mean power (MP) using the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) over one year.
- Classified sexual maturity using Tanner's pubic hair indices.
Main Results:
- Body mass and stature positively influenced power output, with a smaller age effect in girls.
- Significant gender differences observed, with boys exhibiting higher power outputs than girls.
- Skin-fold thickness negatively predicted power output, diminishing the effects of stature and maturation.
Conclusions:
- Significant gender disparities exist in the growth of Wingate Anaerobic Test performance.
- Body mass and skin-fold thickness are the strongest anthropometric predictors of peak and mean power in young people, irrespective of gender.