Comparison of VO2 maximum obtained from 20 m shuttle run and cycle ergometer in children with and without developmental coordination disorder.
The 20 m shuttle run gives a good enough VO2-max estimate for kids with developmental coordination disorder when lab testing isn’t possible.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ward-Horner et al. (2010) compared two ways to measure aerobic fitness in kids. One group had developmental coordination disorder. The other group moved typically.
Each child ran a 20 m shuttle test and later pedaled a lab cycle. Researchers recorded VO2-max from both tools.
What they found
Kids with coordination disorder scored lower on both tests. The shuttle-run numbers matched the lab numbers closely.
This means the simple hallway test can stand in for expensive lab gear.
How this fits with other research
Baerg et al. (2011) seem to disagree. They used wrist accelerometers and found girls with DCD plus ADHD took more steps than peers. Boys with the same diagnoses took fewer steps. The difference is ADHD and sex, not the fitness test itself.
Bowen et al. (2012) extend the story. They link low activity to delayed bone age in DCD. John’s lower VO2-max numbers help explain why bones lag behind.
Cairney et al. (2011) add body-fat data. Same kids, same lab. More body fat pairs with worse motor scores, backing up the low-fitness picture.
Why it matters
You can test aerobic capacity in a hallway instead of a lab. Use the 20 m shuttle when insurance, space, or behavior limits full ergometry. Pair the score with sex and ADHD status before you write activity goals. If VO2-max is low, check bone age and body fat to plan a fuller health program.
Get CEUs on This Topic — Free
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Run one 20 m shuttle test and record laps; use the lap count to set reachable running goals for recess.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Oxygen consumption at peak physical exertion (VO(2) maximum) is the most widely used indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness. The purpose of this study was to compare two protocols for its estimation, cycle ergometer testing and the 20 m shuttle run, among children with and without probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). The shuttle run test was conducted during regular school hours, usually in the gymnasium. Children were then invited to a lab to complete the cycle ergometer protocol. Children were categorized as possible cases of DCD using the Movement-ABC-2. The analysis was performed using cut-points at both the 5th (n=38) and 15th (n=51) percentiles. The average age of children in the study was 12 years (SD=0.5). Children with pDCD had poorer VO(2) maximum when compared to typically developing children based on both the shuttle run and the cycle ergometer. The correlation between tests is in the moderate to high range (r=0.71, p<0.001); 0.78 for girls, and 0.73 for boys. The overall difference in correlations between typically developing children and children with pDCD based on the 15th percentile was 0.12 (p=0.27). For children with pDCD based on the 5th percentile however, the difference between groups was larger (difference in r=0.25), and was statistically significant (p=0.02). In multivariate analyses, there was no difference in the effect of the shuttle run results in predicting VO(2) maximum obtained through the cycle ergometer test for children with pDCD compared to those without the condition. Regardless of the test, the patterns of association between children with pDCD and typically developing children were the same reinforcing the findings of previous field-based reports. Moderate to good correlations, at the 15th percentile cut-point, between tests suggests that the shuttle run test is a reliable substitute in this population when lab based assessments of VO(2) maximum are not feasible.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.07.008