Body weight changes in child and adolescent athletes during a triathlon competition.

We examined young athletes during a triathlon performed in a hot climate. Complete or partial data were available for 95 athletes competing in the National Triathlon Championship in Costa Rica. Mean ± SD for age and body weight (BW) were 13.1 ± 2.5 years and 46.3 ± 11.5 kg, respectively. Race requirements included: 500 m swimming, 15 km cycling, 3.5 km running for juniors (9-13 years); 800 m swimming, 30 km cycling, 8 km running for seniors (14-17 years). WBGT on race day was >31 °C. BW recorded pre- and post-race was available for 92 athletes and performance data were available for 83 of these. Information regarding symptoms experienced during the race was available for 95 athletes. Change in BW (%ΔBW) was calculated and ranged from +0.6 to -2.4 % for junior boys (-1.2 ± 0.9 %), +0.7 to -2.5 % for junior girls (-1.3 ± 0.9 %), 0 to -2.8 % for senior girls (-1.3 ± 0.9 %), and +0.6 to -4.5 % for senior boys (-1.7 ± 1.1 %). Eighteen participants reported no medical symptoms. Of 77 participants who reported symptoms, 42.9 % reported exhaustion/fatigue, 36.4 % reported side stitch/cramp, and 23.4 % reported dizziness. Participants reporting no medical symptoms achieved almost identical (P = 0.99) %ΔBW as those reporting at least one symptom. %ΔBW was more negative (P = 0.005) in participants who reported dizziness (-1.9 %ΔBW) compared with those who did not (-1.4 %ΔBW). %ΔBW was associated with performance in junior girls (r = 0.47, P = 0.02) and senior boys (r = 0.51, P = 0.01), with a trend in junior boys (r = 0.41, P = 0.053) but not in senior girls (r = 0.004, P = 0.99). Young athletes participating in a triathlon in a hot climate can tolerate mild to moderate levels of dehydration, without detrimental effects to self-assessed health.

Exercise capacity in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine exercise capacity in youth with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). STUDY DESIGN: Eleven males and eight females with CD and six males and four females with UC participated. Patients performed standard exercise tests to assess peak power (PP) and mean power (MP) and peak aerobic mechanical power (W(peak)) and peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)). Fitness variables were compared with reference data and also correlated with relevant clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease had lower PP (∼90% of predicted), MP (∼88% of predicted), W(peak) (∼91% of predicted), and VO(2peak) (∼75% of predicted) compared with reference values. When patients with CD or UC were compared separately to reference values, W(peak) was significantly lower only in the CD group. No statistically significant correlations were found between any exercise variables and disease duration (r = 0.01 to 0.14, P = .47 to .95) or disease activity (r = -0.19 to -0.31, P = .11 to .38), measured by pediatric CD activity index or pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index. After controlling for chronological age, recent hemoglobin levels were significantly correlated with PP (r = 0.45, P = .049), MP (r = 0.63, P = .003), VO(2peak) (r = 0.62, P = .004), and W(peak) (r = 0.70, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease exhibit impaired aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacity compared with reference values.