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Stability of running economy in young children
D J Keefer1, W Tseh, J L Caputo
1Department of Exercise and Sport Science, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA. daniel.keefer@millersville.edu
Insights
Young children achieve stable running economy measures after just 15 minutes of treadmill practice. This study confirms reliable VO2 data for assessing children's running performance.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Pediatric 운동 Science
Background:
- Limited research exists on the time needed for stable running economy measurements in young children.
- Understanding running economy stability is crucial for accurate performance assessments in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the within- and between-day stability of running economy in young children.
- To establish reliable protocols for measuring running economy in 6-year-olds.
Main Methods:
- Thirty 6-year-olds (16 girls, 14 boys) participated in three test sessions over 2 weeks.
- Subjects completed multiple 5-minute treadmill runs at a constant speed (2.23 m/s), with expired air collected to determine oxygen consumption (VO2).
- Within-session and between-session VO2 measures were analyzed for stability using coefficients of variation and intraclass correlation coefficients.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in absolute or relative VO2 were found across trials (p>0.05).
- Average coefficients of variation for VO2 were low (2.17% within-session, 2.35-2.51% between-session).
- Intraclass correlation coefficients for VO2 were high (0.99 for absolute, 0.96 for relative), indicating excellent reliability.
Conclusions:
- Stable within- and between-day measures of running economy can be achieved in young children after approximately 15 minutes of level treadmill running practice.
- These findings provide a basis for reliable VO2 measurements in pediatric exercise science research and practice.
Abstract:
Few studies have been conducted documenting the length of time required for young children to achieve stable measures of running economy. Hence the purpose of this study was to quantify within- and between-day stability in running economy among young children. To address this issue, 30 6-year olds (16 girls, 14 boys) completed three test sessions within a 2 wk period. During Sessions 1 and 2 subjects performed three 5 min level treadmill runs at 2.23 m x sec(-1). During Session 2 expired air was collected during the last 2 min of each 5 min run (R1, R2, R3) and analyzed to determine VO2. In Session 3 subjects completed a single 5 min run (R4) at 2.23 m x sec(-1) and VO2 was measured during the last 2 min of running. Data analysis revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in absolute or relative VO2 across trials. The average coefficient of variation for both absolute and relative VO2 among runs completed in Session 2 was 2.17 %, and the mean coefficient of variation for VO2 between R4 and the average VO2 of R1, R2, and R3 was 2.51 % and 2.35% for absolute and relative VO2, respectively. Moreover intraclass correlation coefficients for absolute and relative VO2 across all runs were 0.99 and 0.96, respectively. Viewed in concert, these results suggest that following 15 minutes of level treadmill running practice, stable within- and between-day measures of running economy can be obtained in young, prepubescent children.
