Abstract
Excess weight leads to an impaired cardiovascular response to physical exertion even at a young age. Sports training during youth promotes cardiovascular adaptations. The aim of the study is to verify the impact of weight status on cardiovascular parameters related to physical effort in young people who engage in competitive sports. A retrospective study was conducted on 8307 young athletes (5578 males and 2729 females) aged 6–18 years (mean age 13.9 ± 2.2 years). The data concerning graded exercise tests of young athletes in normal weight and overweight were compared. Approximately, 13.4% of the sample had excess weight. Young overweight athletes show a higher resting heart rate as well as systolic and diastolic pressure than young normal weight athletes. Excess weight condition leads to a reduction in the duration of the graded exercise test, reaching higher blood pressure values at the end of the test compared to those with normal weight. After four min from the end of the test, heart rate and systolic/diastolic blood pressure remained higher in the young overweight athletes. Excess weight affects cardiovascular parameters both at rest and in response to physical exertion during youth; however, competitive sport seems to be able to keep these parameters within the normal range even in young overweight athletes.
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is a current public health problem [1]
Cardiovascular parameters related to physical effort are generally assessed through the graded exercise test (GXT) which currently is widely used for detection of coronary artery disease, prediction of cardiovascular events, and evaluation of physical capacity [4]
Starting from 8307 subjects that were included in the study, 3075 males and 1299 females carried out the cycle ergometer GXT and 2503 males and 1430 females carried out the treadmill GXT
Summary
The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is a current public health problem [1]. Excess weight involves both metabolic and hemodynamic alterations [2]. The main hemodynamic changes in obese youth are an increase in resting blood pressure and resting heart rate and an increase in peak heart rate during exercise tests compared to lean controls [3]. In normal subjects, during exercise there is an increase in muscle work, which leads to an increase in oxygen demand. To meet these growing requirements, the cardiovascular system applies a gradual rise in cardiac output. To meet these growing requirements, the cardiovascular system applies a gradual rise in cardiac output. [5]
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