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

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

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.671827

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 VO2peak 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 VO2peak 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.

Highlights

Body mass gain in various age populations, including children and adolescents, has been noticeable (Czyż et al, 2017; Brzeziński et al, 2018)
As there are still discrepancies in the literature on this subject, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate aerobic capacity in high-body mass index (BMI) children and adolescents by comparing them with a normal weight control group by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)
These data are presented for all three groups of participants: normal weight, overweight children, and obese children; a difference between the groups is presented

Summary

Introduction

Body mass gain in various age populations, including children and adolescents, has been noticeable (Czyż et al, 2017; Brzeziński et al, 2018). This problem is classified as the major public health challenge of the 21st century (Nittari et al, 2019; Spinelli et al, 2019). Over 43 million children in the world are overweight or obese (Güngör, 2014; Czyż et al, 2017). One of the objective methods of assessing the level of cardiopulmonary capacity in overweight and obese children and adolescents is cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion