Maximal oxygen consumption and oxygen uptake efficiency in adolescent males

Background/objective: Measures of oxygen uptake efficiency (OUE) have been used to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adolescents unable to perform maximal exercise. The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) and oxygen uptake efficiency plateau (OUEP) have been proposed as surrogates for maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). We assessed the validity of the OUES and OUEP as predictors of VO2max in healthy male adolescents. Methods: Sixty-three healthy male adolescents aged 15.40 +/- 0.34 years underwent an incremental treadmill test to determine VO2max, OUES and OUEP. OUE throughout the test was assessed by dividing each VO2 value by the corresponding minute ventilation (V-E) value. OUEP was determined as the 90 s average highest consecutive values for OUE. OUES was determined using data up to the ventilatory threshold (VT) by calculating the slope of the linear relation between VO2 and the logarithm of V-E. Results: Limits of agreement for VO2max predicted by OUES (+/- 13.3 mL kg(-1) min(-1)) and OUEP (+/- 16.7 mL kg(-1) n lin(-1)) relative to VO2max were wide and a magnitude bias was found for OUES and OUEP as predictors of VO2max (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The OUES and OUEP do not accurately predict VO2max in male adolescents and should not replace VO2max when assessing CRF in this population. (C) 2020 The Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Automated summary

The study assessed the validity of OUES and OUEP as predictors of VO2max in healthy male adolescents, revealing that they do not accurately predict VO2max and should not replace VO2max when evaluating cardiorespiratory fitness in this population.