Variability of walking and running economy among prepubertal, adolescent and adult females

Daily variability of walking and naming economy (WE,") was assessed in eight prepubertal (P), eight adolescent (C) and eight adult females (A) on three separate days. Prior to testing all subjects engaged in 15 minutes of treadmill walking and running and performed a graded treadmill exercise test to maximal effort. On 3 additional days WE and RE were measured during five minutes each of walking and running. The order of exercise was randomized and each bout was separated by ten minutes of rest. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed differences (p < 0.05) in height, weight, sum of skinfolds, BSA, VO=Ax (ml-kg' .min 1), HRmAxbetween P vs C, and A. While there were no significant interactions between group and speed, a two-way ANOVA revealed differences between all three groups for WE and RE (p< 0.05). Repeated measures two-way ANOVA revealed significant day-to-day differences in RE but not WE. Coefficients of variation (CV) for economy were significantly greater for walking (4.33) than running (2.33). CV for WE and RE combined were significantly greater in P (4.43) than A (2.42). These results suggest dust daft variability of WE and RE appears to be a function of maturation and growth, with significance being acheived at the extremes of the maturation scale; the prepubescent child and the fully mature adult Furthermore, for research testing purposes, prepubertal children may require greater than two testing sessions, the amount recommended for adults.Human Performance LaboratoryThesis (M.S.