Background: Obesity impairs performance in most athletic events. The prevalence of obesity in Taiwan has increased over the past decades. It is important to understand any alterations in cardiopulmonary responses to exercise in obese children. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cardiorespiratory response to graded treadmill exercise testing protocol in obese children.
Methods: Twenty obese and 10 control children between 8 to 12 years of age were recruited among patients at Pediatric Clinics. The treadmill was set at a grade of 10% to perform continuous treadmill walking. Measures of cardiopulmonary responses were recorded. Height, weight and body mass index were determined before testing.
Results: Cardiopulmonary responses including heart rate (HR), systolic pressure (SP), rate-pressure product (RPP) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were significantly different between obese children and normal children during and after exercise. The correlations of cardiopulmonary function to age, sex, height, body weight, triceps and biceps skinfold thickness were assessed, and a significant correlation was found between HR and age (r = 0.5, p < 0.05), as well as biceps skinfold thickness (r = 0.5, p < 0.05). There was also a good correlation between predicted values of FVC and age (r = -0.5, p < 0.05). The HR (r = 0.79, p < 0.05) was in correlation with tricep skinfold thickness in normal healthy children.
Conclusions: In conclusion, there appears to show a relatively less efficient cardiopulmonary response in obese children. Regular exercise that improves fitness and body composition should have a favorable effect on obese children.