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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Aerobic Capacity, Activity Levels and Daily Energy Expenditure in Male and Female Adolescents of the Kenyan Nandi Sub-Group
PLoS ONE, Volume 8, No. 6, Article e66552, Year 2013
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Description
The relative importance of genetic and socio-cultural influences contributing to the success of east Africans in endurance athletics remains unknown in part because the pre-training phenotype of this population remains incompletely assessed. Here cardiopulmonary fitness, physical activity levels, distance travelled to school and daily energy expenditure in 15 habitually active male (13.9±1.6 years) and 15 habitually active female (13.9±1.2) adolescents from a rural Nandi primary school are assessed. Aerobic capacity (VO2max) was evaluated during two maximal discontinuous incremental exercise tests; physical activity using accelerometry combined with a global positioning system; and energy expenditure using the doubly labelled water method. The VO2max of the male and female adolescents were 73.9±5.7 ml. kg-1. min-1 and 61.5±6.3 ml. kg-1. min-1, respectively. Total time spent in sedentary, light, moderate and vigorous physical activities per day was 406±63 min (50% of total monitored time), 244±56 min (30%), 75±18 min (9%) and 82±30 min (10%). Average total daily distance travelled to and from school was 7.5±3.0 km (0.8-13.4 km). Mean daily energy expenditure, activity-induced energy expenditure and physical activity level was 12.2±3.4 MJ. day-1, 5.4±3.0 MJ. day-1 and 2.2±0.6. 70.6% of the variation in VO2max was explained by sex (partial R2 = 54.7%) and body mass index (partial R2 = 15.9%). Energy expenditure and physical activity variables did not predict variation in VO2max once sex had been accounted for. The highly active and energy-demanding lifestyle of rural Kenyan adolescents may account for their exceptional aerobic fitness and collectively prime them for later training and athletic success. © 2013 Gibson et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Gibson, Alexander R.
United Kingdom, Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Ojiambo, Robert M.
United Kingdom, Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Kenya, Eldoret
Moi University
Konstabel, Kenn
United Kingdom, Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Estonia, Tartu
Tartu Ülikool
Lieberman, Daniel E.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Reilly, John J.
United Kingdom, Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Speakman, John Roger
United Kingdom, Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
China, Beijing
Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Pitsiladis, Yannis Paul
United Kingdom, Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Kenya, Eldoret
Moi University
Statistics
Citations: 18
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0066552
e-ISSN:
19326203
Research Areas
Environmental
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Participants Gender
Male
Female