The physical working capacity of healthy black children

The exercise performance of 170 black boys and girls, 7 to 14 years of age, was evaluated on a mechanically braked bicycle ergometer. The protocol is simple to perform in the hospital or in the field with normal children or children with heart or pulmonary disease. The results of the physical working capacity at a heart rate of 170 beats per minute (PWC170), a submaximal workload, are comparable to values previously recorded in California children. For a given body surface area, boys and girls younger than 10 years of age had similar PWC170 but boys 11 years and older had a greater capacity than girls of similar age or body surface area. There was a significant correlation between PWC170 and total work performed for boys (r = .81) and girls (r = .69).