Cardiopulmonary Capacity in Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Agata Grzyb; Małgorzata Domagalska-Szopa; Andrzej Siwiec; Ilona Kwiecień-Czerwieniec; Andrzej Szopa

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.671827

Cardiopulmonary Capacity in Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Front Physiol. 2021 May 13:12:671827. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.671827. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Agata Grzyb¹, Małgorzata Domagalska-Szopa¹, Andrzej Siwiec², Ilona Kwiecień-Czerwieniec², Andrzej Szopa³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.
² John Paul II Pediatric Center in Sosnowiec, Sosnowiec, Poland.
³ Department of Physiotherapy, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.

Abstract

Background: One of the objective methods of assessing the level of cardiopulmonary capacity in overweight and obese children and adolescents is cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Aims: The purpose of present study is an evaluation of aerobic capacity in high body mass index (BMI) children and adolescents by comparing them with a normal weight control group by CPET. Methods and Procedures: The subjects were recruited from participants of the Program of Treatment for Overweight and Obese Children organized by a local pediatric rehabilitation center in Poland. Based on BMI for age and gender, two validation groups were selected: (1) a group of overweight children (n = 49) and (2) a group of obese children (n = 48). The study included also 53 normal weight participants as a reference group (REF). The study consisted of two parts: anthropometric measurements and CPET. The Godfrey protocol for CPET was applied. Outcomes and Results: In this study, obese children and adolescents showed similar absolute VO_2peak values in liters per minute (1.64 L/min) compared to overweight children (1.48 L/min), but significantly higher than children with normal body weight (1.39 L/min). The obese children and adolescents presented lower VO_2peak in relation to body weight (25.44 ml/kg/min) compared to their peers with normal body weight (36.5 ml/kg/min), and overweight children (29.18 ml/kg/min). Conclusion and Implications: The main finding of our study was recognition of significant differences between cardiopulmonary capacity parameters in obese children in comparison not only to normal weight peers, but to overweight, too.

Keywords: VO2peak; cardiopulmonary exercise test; high BMI children; obese children; overweight.