文摘
To assess the influence of obesity on the oxygen uptake ( $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2} $ ) kinetics of pre-pubertal children during moderate- and heavy intensity treadmill exercise. We hypothesised that obese (OB) children would demonstrate significantly slower $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2} $ kinetics than their normal weight (NW) counterparts during moderate- and heavy intensity exercise. 18 OB (9.8?±?0.5?years; 24.1?±?2.0?kg?m2) and 19 NW (9.7?±?0.5?years; 17.6?±?1.0?kg?m2) children completed a graded-exercise test to volitional exhaustion and two submaximal constant work rate treadmill tests at moderate (90?% gas exchange threshold) and heavy (?0?%) exercise intensities. Bodyweight significantly influenced the $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2} $ kinetics during both moderate- and heavy exercise intensities (P?<?0.05). During moderate intensity exercise, the phase II τ (OB: 30?±?13 cf. NW: 22?±?7?s), mean response time (MRT; OB: 35?±?16 cf. NW: 25?±?10?s), phase II gain (OB: 156?±?21 cf. NW: 111?±?18?mLO2?kg??km?) and oxygen deficit (OB: 0.36?±?0.11 cf. NW: 0.20?±?0.06?L) were significantly higher in the OB children (all P?<?0.05). During heavy intensity exercise, the τ (OB: 33?±?9 cf. NW: 27?±?6?s; P?<?0.05) and phase II gain (OB: 212?±?61 cf. NW: 163?±?23 mLO2?kg??km?; P?<?0.05) were similarly higher in the OB children. A slow component was observed in all participants during heavy intensity exercise, but was not influenced by weight status. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that weight status significantly influences the dynamic $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2} $ response at the onset of treadmill exercise in children and highlights that the deleterious effects of being obese are already manifest pre-puberty.