Abstract
This study analysed the reliability and validity of two intermittent running tests (the Yo–Yo IR1 test and the Andersen test) as tools for estimating VO2max in children under the age of 10. Two groups, aged 6–7 years (grade 0, n = 18) and 8–9 years (grade 2, n = 16), carried out two repetitions of a modified Yo–Yo IR1 test (2 × 16 m) and the Andersen test, as well as an incremental treadmill test, to directly determine the VO2max. No significant differences were observed in test–retest performance of the Yo–Yo IR1 test [693 ± 418 (±SD) and 670 ± 328 m, r 2 = 0.79, CV = 19%, p > 0.05, n = 32) and the Andersen test (988 ± 77 and 989 ± 87 m, r 2 = 0.86, CV = 3%, p > 0.05, n = 31). The Yo–Yo IR1 (r 2 = 0.47, n = 31, p < 0.002) and Andersen test performance (r 2 = 0.53, n = 32, p < 0.001) correlated with the VO2max. Yo–Yo IR1 performance correlated with Andersen test performance (r 2 = 0.74, n = 32, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the Yo–Yo IR1 and the Andersen tests are reproducible and can be used as an indicator of aerobic fitness for 6- to 9-year-old children.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the participants for their contribution and enthusiasm, as well as the teachers and schools for their support. The project was partially financed with funding from the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences of the University of Copenhagen, with kind assistance from Team Denmark and the Center for Research in Childhood Health, at the University of Southern Denmark.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest with regard to this manuscript.
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Communicated by Keith Phillip George.
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Ahler, T., Bendiksen, M., Krustrup, P. et al. Aerobic fitness testing in 6- to 9-year-old children: reliability and validity of a modified Yo–Yo IR1 test and the Andersen test. Eur J Appl Physiol 112, 871–876 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2039-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2039-4