Comparison of Physical Fitness in Type 1 Diabetic and Healthy Children Matched by Age, Gender, and BMI

Abstract

Physical activity is important in the growth and development of children and long‐term prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Children with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, with increased risk for CVD, may display altered exercise adaptations requiring individually tailored exercise regimens. While assessment of physical fitness is a crucial component in the design of exercise strategies, conflicting conclusions exist concerning fitness in type 1 diabetic (T1DM) children (with both normal and reduced levels reported), possibly due to difficulty in recruiting closely‐matched controls. Our study aimed to compare fitness in 40 T1DM (19 F, ages 11–15) children and 40 healthy controls rigorously selected as one‐on‐one matches for gender, age (0.13 years mean difference) and BMI (1.5 mean difference). Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2peak) was determined through a standard incremental exercise test on a cycle ergometer. VO2peak was comparable across groups (38 ± 1 vs. 37 ± 1 ml/min/kg, NS), even when subdivided by gender (T1DM vs. control: girls 34 ± 2 vs. 35 ± 2; boys 44 ± 2 vs. 40 ± 2 ml/min/kg). Physical fitness was similar between T1DM and rigorously‐matched healthy children, suggesting that T1DM does not intrinsically limit a child's ability to fully derive the physiological health benefits associated with exercise.Support: NIH grants M01‐RR00827–28; K‐23 RR018661–01; & JDRF #11–2003–332