Submaximal oxygen cost during incremental exercise in children with developmental coordination disorder.
Kids with coordination disorder burn extra oxygen during simple bike work, so keep sessions short and light.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Robertson et al. (2013) compared kids with developmental coordination disorder to matched peers on a bike.
They measured how much oxygen each child used while the bike load slowly increased.
What they found
Kids with the disorder burned about twenty percent more oxygen at every light-to-medium level.
They tired sooner even though the work looked the same on paper.
How this fits with other research
Peters et al. (2013) ran a similar test but used a treadmill. Oxygen use looked equal, yet heart rate and lactate were higher. The bike-vs-run difference shows the cost shows up most when balance demands are low.
Xenitidis et al. (2010) and Eussen et al. (2016) add that peak aerobic power and sprint strength are also lower. Together the papers map a full energy gap: both aerobic and anaerobic tanks are smaller.
Li et al. (2011) tracked the same kids for three years and saw fitness drop further. The higher oxygen cost seen here helps explain why the gap widens over time.
Why it matters
You now have a clear, numbers-free rule: children with coordination disorder waste energy faster.
Cut PE or therapy bursts to five-minute blocks, watch for heavy breathing, and allow extra rest before the next trial.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
There has been minimal evidence examining the differences in submaximal aerobic power between children with and without probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). This is important as most activities of daily living are performed at submaximal levels. The aim of this study was to examine the oxygen cost of work (VO2) performed during an incremental exercise protocol on a cycle ergometer. Subjects with pDCD (n=63) were matched for age and gender to 63 typically developing controls (12-13 years of age) using a nested case-control design. Motor coordination was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Children with pDCD had significantly lower VO2 peak values relative to controls (35.0 vs. 42.9 ml/kg/min, p<0.0001). At the submaximal level, mixed effects modeling demonstrated that, after controlling for relative body fat, and VO2 peak, children with pDCD had consistently greater oxygen cost (VO2 ml/kg/min) compared to controls at any given exercise intensity (p=0.0006). A significant interaction between pDCD and workload indicated that the difference in VO2 at higher workloads is greater than that at lower workloads (p=0.0004). Children with pDCD utilize more oxygen to sustain the same submaximal workload. The implication of these findings is that children with pDCD may experience earlier fatigue than well coordinated individuals when engaging in physical activity.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.09.024