ABSTRACT
The increased research attention to the physiological responses of children to exercise reflects three recent developments: a) the rise in participation in sports training and competition by young athletes at highly intensive levels, b) an appreciation of the relationship between exercise during childhood and positive health outcomes, and c) recognition of the therapeutic potential of exercise in youth with chronic illnesses. These studies have revealed that the physiological responses to exercise in children may differ from those in adults. This chapter addresses one of these: following a period of endurance exercise training, the physiological adaptation of increased aerobic capacity (maximal oxygen uptake) is typically dampened in children compared to mature individuals. Whether this limited physiological aerobic response to training can be translated into a diminished ability to improve endurance performance is not known. Some feel the child-adult difference in physiological aerobic trainability reflects inadequate training regimens and study design in young subjects; others have suggested, instead, that this discrepancy reflects a true biological difference between the two age groups. Recognizing the truth of the matter may well pay dividends in a better understanding of the basic mechanisms which underlie the physiological responses to endurance training.
