ABSTRACT
UK; 3University of Glamorgan, UK; 4Newman University College, UK; 5Swansea University, UK
18.1 INTRODUCTION For the most part, children and adolescents’ physical activity (PA) patterns involve short bursts of dynamic activities interspersed with periods of recovery (Baquet et al., 2007). These PA bouts might occur during regular physical education (PE) lessons, organized sports practice, or free play. Despite frequently engaging in brief bouts of high-intensity exercise, there is a dearth of information available on the physiological response of children and adolescents to this type of activity (Armstrong et al., 2001). Specifically, there appear to be few data examining the response of stress hormones and immunological parameters to repeated, highintensity exercise in this age group. We investigated the effect of repeated bouts of short-term, high-intensity cycling exercise on the salivary cortisol, testosterone and immunoglobulin (A) concentrations of 15-16 year old boys. 18.2 METHODS Seventeen apparently healthy schoolchildren (aged 15.5 ± 0.4 years) participated in this study. Written parental consent and participants’ assent were obtained prior to the study. A health questionnaire was completed by the parents confirming that the participants had not recently suffered from an upper respiratory tract illness including sore throat, runny nose, headache, or fever. The schoolchildren were habituated to the laboratory environment and experimental procedures. All experimental procedures were carried out over two mornings, at least three hours after a light breakfast. The participants were instructed not to engage in strenuous activity during the day before an exercise test. The study was given approval by the University’s ethics committee.
