Aerobic response to endurance exercise training in children.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the ability of children to improve aerobic fitness, as indicated by changes in maximaal oxygen uptake (VO2max), after a 12-week period of endurance training.

DESIGN

Longitudinal prospective training with control period.

SETTING

Middle school physical education class.

SUBJECTS

Twenty-four girls and 13 boys, ages 10.9 to 12.8 years.

INTERVENTION

Three 30-minute sessions of aerobic activity weekly for 12 weeks at an intensity-producing a mean heart rate of 166 beats per minute. Maximal treadmill testing was performed 12 weeks before the training program and again at the start and end because each child served as his/her own control.

RESULTS

Mean VO2max did not change significantly during the control period but rose from 44.7 (5.8) to 47.6 (6.4) mL kg-1min-1 (6.5%) with training (P < .05). No differences in training response were observed relative to sex, pretraining VO2max, or sports participation.

CONCLUSION

These findings support the concept that VO2max can be improved with endurance training during the childhood years, but the degree of aerobic train-ability is limited in healthy, active children.