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Breathing pattern during exercise in untrained children
M Boule1, C Gaultier, F Girard
1Unité de Physiologie respiratoire de l'enfant, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Hôpital, Trousseau, Paris France.
Insights
Untrained children adjust their breathing patterns during exercise to meet metabolic demands. However, increases in respiratory rate and decreases in inspiratory time are limited at maximal workloads.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Exercise Physiology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Breathing pattern adaptation in children during exercise is crucial for meeting metabolic demands.
- Understanding these adaptations in untrained children provides insights into physiological responses to physical activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the breathing pattern adjustments in untrained children during incremental and steady-state cycle ergometer exercise.
- To analyze the relationship between metabolic demand and respiratory parameters in this age group.
Main Methods:
- Measurements included oxygen uptake, tidal volume, minute ventilation (all body weight-normalized), respiratory frequency, inspiratory and expiratory times, and inspiratory flow.
- Parameters were assessed at rest, maximal exercise, and two submaximal steady-state conditions.
- Statistical analysis was performed to determine significant changes and relationships.
Main Results:
- Oxygen uptake, tidal volume, minute ventilation, tidal volume/inspiratory time, and inspiratory time/total respiratory cycle duration significantly increased with workload.
- Respiratory frequency increased, while inspiratory time decreased significantly up to submaximal workloads.
- At maximal workload, the increase in respiratory frequency and decrease in inspiratory time were limited.
Conclusions:
- Untrained children adapt their breathing patterns during exercise to match metabolic demand, similar to resting conditions.
- The respiratory system's ability to further increase respiratory rate and shorten inspiratory time is constrained at maximal exercise intensity in this population.
Abstract:
Breathing pattern during exercise on a cycle ergometer was studied in 18 untrained children aged from 6 to 15 years of age (9 boys, 9 girls). Oxygen uptake, tidal volume, minute ventilation, all normalized for body weight (VO2BW, VT BW, VE BW), respiratory frequency (f), inspiratory (TI) and expiratory (TE) times, ratio TI over total duration of the respiratory cycle (TI/TTOT) and mean inspiratory flow (VT BW/TI) were measured: (1) at rest (W0) and at the highest load (maximal cardiac rate) of an incremental exercise (W1); (2) in steady state conditions, at 50% of W1 (W1/2) and at 2/3 of W1 (W2/3). VO2BW, VT BW, VE BW, TI/TTOT, VT BW/TI increased significantly (P less than 0.01) from W0 to W1. Behaviour of f and TI were different from the latter parameters: f increased and TI decreased significantly from W0 to W1/2 (P less than 0.01) and from W1/2 to W2/3 (P less than 0.01) but remained similar at W2/3 and W1. We observed a relationship between VO2 BW and VT BW/TI, and between VT BW and TI/TTOT at each step of workload. We conclude that untrained children adapt the pattern of breathing during exercise, as at rest, to metabolic demand. However, the increase in f and the decrease in TI are limited at maximal workload.