ABSTRACT
Physical activity or inactivity may have profound effects on children’s health. These effects are mediated, at least partially, by the relationship between physical activity, anabolic and/or catabolic hormones and circulating inflammatory mediators/cytokines. These relationships are not limited to individuals participating in competitive sports, but also exist for the healthy child and adolescent, and even for the chronically ill child. When studying the complex relations between exercise and these mediators, one should differentiate between the acute effects of a brief, single exercise bout and the adaptations that occur in physically active people or in response to long-term programmes of endurance training.
