Oxygen-uptake efficiency slope in healthy 7- to 18-year-old children.

The aim of this article was to assess the oxygen-uptake efficiency slope (OUES) throughout the age span of 7 to 18 years. One hundred fourteen healthy children (58 boys and 56 girls) exercised on a treadmill by means of a modified Balke protocol. The OUES grew in a nonlinear pattern with age, and it appeared to be significantly higher in boys than in girls. There was a very strong correlation between OUES and VO2peak (r = .92), and there was a small difference between the values of OUES calculated for different exercise intensities. Stepwise-regression analysis outlined body surface area (BSA) and sex as main determinants of OUES. OUES is an objective measure of exercise capacity that does not require a maximal effort but is considerably dependent on anthropometric variables and necessitates the generation of appropriate reference values.