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Associations of age, body size, and maturation with physical activity intensity in different laboratory tasks in
Eero A Haapala1,2, Ying Gao1,3, Timo Rantalainen1
1Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Insights
Children's physical activity intensity varies with age and body composition. Taller, more muscular children show lower intensity, while higher body fat and waist circumference correlate with increased intensity. Adjustments are needed for accurate measurements.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Pediatric Health
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Understanding physical activity (PA) intensity in children is crucial for health.
- Current methods may not fully account for individual physical characteristics.
- Factors like age, body size, and composition influence energy expenditure during PA.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age, sex, body size, body composition, and maturity relate to PA intensity in children.
- To evaluate the validity of different PA intensity measures in pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- PA intensity was measured using oxygen consumption (VO2 reserve and at ventilatory threshold), muscle activity (electromyography), accelerometry (mean amplitude deviation), and metabolic equivalents (METs).
- Laboratory activities included treadmill walking/running and stair climbing.
- Associations were analyzed using Spearman correlations.
Main Results:
- Age, stature, and muscle mass were inversely related to VO2 measures during treadmill activities.
- Age showed mixed associations with accelerometry-derived PA intensity.
- Fat mass and waist circumference were positively associated with higher VO2 and muscle activity.
Conclusions:
- Standard accelerometry cut-offs for defining PA intensity in children require adjustment.
- Recommendations for PA intensity assessment should consider individual differences in age, sex, body size, and composition.
- These findings highlight the need for personalized approaches in pediatric physical activity research and monitoring.
Abstract:
We investigated the associations of age, sex, body size, body composition, and maturity with measures of physical activity (PA) intensity in children. PA intensity was assessed using VO2 as % of VO2reserve or VO2 at ventilatory threshold (VT), muscle activity measured by textile electromyography, mean amplitude deviation (MAD) measured by accelerometry, and metabolic equivalent of task (MET) during laboratory activities.Age, stature, and muscle mass were inversely associated with VO2 as % of VO2reserve and % of VT, during walking or running on a treadmill for 4, 6, and 8 km/h (Spearman r = -0.645 to -0.358). Age was inversely associated with MAD during walking on treadmill for 4 km/h (r = -0.541) and positively associated with MAD during running on a treadmill for 8 km/h, playing hopscotch, and during self-paced running (r = 0.368 to 0.478). Fat mass was positively associated with VO2 as % of VO2reserve and VO2 as % of VO2 at VT and waist circumference was positively associated with VO2 as a % of VO2reserve and muscle activity during stair climbing (r = 0.416 to 0.519).Fixed accelerometry cut-offs used to define PA intensities should be adjusted for age, sex, body size, and body composition.
