Clinical implications of pediatric exercise physiology.
In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in health aspects of physical activity of children and preadolescents. The reasons of such interest are twofold: a) the great numbers of children who are exposed to high-level conditioning and competition regimens and, b) the recognition by Pediatrics that physical exercise can be a useful tool for pediatric diagnosis and an integral part of clinical management strategies. In an overview of the relationships between health and exercise, selected examples are given to illustrate the following pediatric topics: a) exercise as a diagnostic tool--invasive techniques (congenital heart defects); b) exercise as a diagnostic tool--non-invasive techniques (exercise-induced asthma, growth hormone deficiency); c) habitual activity of the sick child--diseases in which hypoactivity is inherent to the pathology (muscle dystrophies, cerebral palsy); d) habitual activity of the sick child--hypoactivity incidental to the pathology ("innocent murmur", hemophilia); e) deleterious, non-traumatic effects of acute exercise (diabetic hypoglycemia, heat strain); f) deleterious, non-traumatic effects of chronic exercise (menstrual cycle, over-use syndromes).
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010372:Pediatrics; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012119:Respiration