Adolescent girls' energy expenditure during dance simulation active computer gaming.

The objective of this study was to determine the energy expended and intensity of physical activity achieved by adolescent girls while playing on a dance simulation game. Twenty adolescent girls were recruited from a local secondary school. Resting oxygen uptake (VO(2)) and heart rate were analysed while sitting quietly and subsequently during approximately 30 min of game play, with 10 min at each of three increasing levels of difficulty. Energy expenditure was predicted from VO(2) at rest and during game play at three levels of play, from which the metabolic equivalents (METS) of game playing were derived. Mean +/- standard deviation energy expenditure for levels 1, 2, and 3 was 3.63 +/- 0.58, 3.65 +/- 0.54, and 4.14 +/- 0.71 kcal . min(-1) respectively, while mean activity for each level of play was at least of moderate intensity (>3 METS). Dance simulation active computer games provide an opportunity for most adolescent girls to exercise at moderate intensity. Therefore, regular playing might contribute to daily physical activity recommendations for good health in this at-risk population.

Repeated measurement of the gas exchange threshold: relative size of measurement and biological variabilities.

If an individual's gas exchange threshold (GET) is measured on several separate occasions, without a change in aerobic fitness, a random variability will be observed. However, it is not known how much of this variability is biologically determined and how much results from variability in the calibration and measurement processes. The statistical re-sampling technique of Bootstrapping was used to estimate the variability of the GET on a single occasion. This analysis provides the first estimate of the combined contribution of breath-by-breath measurement and calibration processes (6%), to the total between-occasion random variability, leaving biological variability to account for the remainder of the imprecision in the measurement of the GET.

Use of the gas exchange threshold to noninvasively determine the lactate threshold in patients with cystic fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE: The anaerobic threshold (AT) is a submaximal index related to endurance exercise performance, which is usually determined by the measurement of blood lactate concentration during an incremental exercise test (lactate threshold [LT]). The LT, and thus the AT, can also be detected noninvasively in normal subjects by means of the gas exchange threshold (GET). This study was undertaken to validate the use of GET in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with a wide range of disease severity, and to assess the reproducibility of this index. METHODS: In patients with CF (FEV(1) range, 23 to 118% of predicted) and control subjects, gas exchange was measured breath by breath during the incremental exercise tests to allow determination of the GET. Arterialized-venous blood was sampled for determination of the LT. The GET and LT were determined in a blinded manner. RESULTS: The mean differences (GET - LT) for control subjects (n = 18) and patients with CF (n = 23) were - 40 mL/min and + 10 mL/min, respectively, neither being significantly different from zero. The limits of agreement were +/- 550 mL/min and +/- 410 mL/min, respectively. The mean test-retest differences in GET for control subjects (n = 14) and patients with CF (n = 12) were - 50 mL/min and 0 mL/min, respectively, neither being significantly different from zero; the respective limits of reproducibility were +/- 450 mL/min and +/- 350 mL/min. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that in patients with CF, the GET can be used to obtain an unbiased estimate of the LT, and that the GET is reproducible.