The relationship between heart rate reserve and oxygen uptake reserve in children and adolescents

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO2) and heart rate (HR) responses during rest and exercise in Chinese children and youth and to evaluate the relationships between maximal heart rate (%HRmax), heart rate reserve (%HRR), peak oxygen uptake (% VO2peak), and oxygen uptake reserve (% VO2R) in Chinese children and youth. Forty-nine Chinese children and youth were studied at rest and during a graded maximal exercise test on treadmill. Resting, submaximal and peak HR and VO2 were collected. Regression analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between the various forms of HR and VO2 measures. The equivalency between %HRR and % VO2R for adults was examined for children using data obtained in this study. Results indicated that all regression lines between HR measures and VO2 measures were significantly different from the line of identity (p < .05), except the regression line for %HRR versus %VO2 peak in boys. The equivalency between % VO2R and % HRR for adults was not demonstrated in children and adolescents in this study. In contrast, %HRR was more closely equivalent to % VO2 peak. Because a strong linear relationship was found between HR and VO2, HR measures, in terms of either %HRmax or %HRR, would still be a practical variable for prescribing appropriate exercise intensity for children and adolescents. Unlike results found for adults, a given % HRR in children and youth was not equivalent to its corresponding % VO2R.