THE LONGITUDINAL DEVELOPMENT OF RUNNING ECONOMY IN MALES AND FEMALES AGED BETWEEN 13 AND 27 YEARS - THE AMSTERDAM GROWTH AND HEALTH STUDY

The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal development of running economy [defined as the oxygen uptake ((V) over dot O-2) a t a submaximal running speed] in males and females from teenage to you ng adult age using data from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. Su bmaximal (V) over dot O-2 (in ml . kg(-1) . min(-1)) was measured in 8 4 males and 98 females while they ran on a treadmill at a constant spe ed of 8 km . h(-1) for 6 min at three different treadmill slopes (0%, 2.5% and 5%). This test was carried out six times, on the same subject s at the ages of 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, and 27 years. The longitudinal de velopment of running economy in males and females was analysed using a two-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements. At all three slopes, a significant decrease in (V) over dot O-2 with increasing age was found for both males and females, implying a significant increase in running economy for both sexes. Males showed significantly higher (V) over dot O-2 values than females at all ages measured and for all three slopes, suggesting that females have a significantly higher runn ing economy than males. In order to make a better comparison of the (V ) over dot O-2 of individuals of different sizes, allometric models we re used; power function ratios were constructed in which body mass was expressed to an exponential power. Following this analysis the differ ence in submaximal (V) over dot O-2 and running economy between males and females appeared even larger.