Physique and thermoregulation in prepubertal males during exercise in a warm, humid environment

The hyperthermic response to exercise in a warm (30 degrees C), humid (80% relative humidity) environment was obtained for 23 prepubertal males. After the initial increase of core temperatures (tympanic and rectal) to elevated set points, further hyperthermia was minimal and was unrelated to any physique variable except for the case of endomorphy, which was weakly correlated with hyperthermia at the rectal site. This result for boys is attributed to the combination of small body size (relative to adults) and absence of pronounced, age-dependent muscular development as evidenced by low rating and small variation of the mesomorphy component of somatotype. Both of these factors were associated with a high surface area to weight ratio compared to adults, which facilitated heat loss. It is concluded that prepubertal males thermoregulate efficiently during moderate exercise in a warm, humid environment. Other than cases of obesity, variation in physique is not an important consideration for assessing the risk of heat strain.