This study assessed the effectiveness of a 6-week, high-intensity, games-based intervention on physiological and anthropometric indices of health, in normal weight (n = 26; 32.5 ± 8.9 kg) and obese (n = 29; 49.3 ± 8.9 kg) children (n = 32 boys, 23 girls), aged 8-10 years. Children were randomised into an exercise or control group. The exercise group participated in a twice-weekly, 40 min active games intervention, alongside their usual school physical education classes. The control group did not take part in the intervention. Before and after the intervention, participants completed both a maximal and submaximal graded exercise test. The submaximal exercise test comprised of a 6 min, moderate- and 6 min heavy-intensity bout, interspersed with a 5 min recovery. The exercise group demonstrated improvements in maximal oxygen uptake (51.4 ± 8.5 vs 54.3 ± 9.6 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1)) and peak running speed (11.3 ± 1.6 vs 11.9 ± 1.6 km · h(-1)), and a reduction in the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise between assessments (P < .05). A decrease in waist circumference and increase in muscle mass were observed between assessments for the obese participants randomised to the intervention (both P < .05). This study demonstrates that a short-term, high-intensity games intervention may elicit positive changes in physiological and anthropometric indices of health in normal weight and obese children.

Pulse wave analysis(PWA) is widely used to investigate systemic arterial stiffness. The augmentation index(AIx), the primary outcome derived from PWA, is influenced by the mean arterial pressure(MAP), age, gender and heart rate(HR). Gender- and age-specific reference values have been devised, and it is recommended that the MAP be used as a statistical covariate. The AIx is also commonly statistically adjusted to a HR of 75 b·min−1; however, this approach may be physiologically and statistically inappropriate. First, there appears to be an important physiological chronic interaction between HR and arterial stiffness. Second, the method used to correct to HR assumes that the relationship with AIx is uniform across populations. A more appropriate practice may be to include HR as an independent predictor or covariate; this approach is particularly recommended for longitudinal studies, in which changes in HR may help to explain changes in arterial stiffness.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of predicting the maximal oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max) of sedentary men from sub-maximal [Vdot]O₂ values obtained during a perceptually regulated exercise test. Thirteen healthy, sedentary males aged 29 – 52 years completed five graded exercise tests on a cycle ergometer. The first and fifth test involved a graded exercise test to determine [Vdot]O_2max. The two maximal graded exercise tests were separated by three sub-maximal graded exercise tests, perceptually regulated at 3-min RPE intensities of 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 on the Borg ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scale, in that order. After confirmation that individual linear regression models provided the most appropriate fit to the data, the regression lines for the perceptual ranges 9 – 17, 9 – 15, and 11 – 17 were extrapolated to RPE 20 to predict [Vdot]O_2max. There were no significant differences between [Vdot]O_2max values from the graded exercise tests (mean 43.9 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹, s = 6.3) and predicted [Vdot]O_2max values for the perceptual ranges 9 – 17 (40.7 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹, s = 2.2) and RPE 11 – 17 (42.5 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹, s = 2.3) across the three trials. The predicted [Vdot]O_2max from the perceptual range 9 – 15 was significantly lower (P < 0.05) (37.7 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹, s = 2.3). The intra-class correlation coefficients between actual and predicted [Vdot]O_2max for RPE 9 – 17 and RPE 11 – 17 across trials ranged from 0.80 to 0.87. Limits of agreement analysis on actual and predicted [Vdot]O₂ values (bias ± 1.96 × s _diff) were 3.4 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹ (±10.7), 2.4 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹ (±9.9), and 3.7 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹ (±12.8) (trials 1, 2, and 3, respectively) of RPE range 9 – 17. Results suggest that a sub-maximal, perceptually guided graded exercise test provides acceptable estimates of [Vdot]O_2max in young to middle-aged sedentary males.