Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Complete Issue PDF
    • Archive
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Blog
  • Multimedia
    • Teaching Slides
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • CME/MOC
    • CME Quizzes
    • MOC Claiming
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Complete Issue PDF
    • Archive
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Blog
  • Multimedia
    • Teaching Slides
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • CME/MOC
    • CME Quizzes
    • MOC Claiming
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Exercise Intolerance

Scott Owens and Bernard Gutin
Pediatrics in Review January 2000, 21 (1) 6-9; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.21-1-6
Scott Owens
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Bernard Gutin
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article has a correction. Please see:

  • Errata - February 01, 2000

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF
  1. Scott Owens, PhD*
  2. Bernard Gutin, PhD†
  1. *Assistant Research Scientist, Georgia Prevention Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA.
  2. †Professor of Pediatrics, Physiology, and Endocrinology, Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA.

OBJECTIVES

After completing this article, the reader should be able to:

  1. Explain the causes of exercise intolerance.

  2. List the two most useful diagnostic tools for assessing exercise intolerance.

  3. Describe how pulmonary dysfunctions, cardiac diseases, and muscular disorders affect exercise tolerance.

  4. Delineate the nonpharmacologic treatment of choice for most cases of exercise intolerance.

  5. Explain the role of behavioral modification within a family-based intervention for exercise intolerance.

Introduction

Exercise intolerance is a general term associated with individuals whose responses to the challenges of exercise fail to achieve levels considered normal for their age and gender. In the pediatric population, exercise intolerance most frequently is associated with dysfunctions of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular systems, although psychogenic and behavioral causes also place large numbers of children at risk. The reference standard for determining exercise intolerance is the maximal oxygen consumption (˙Vo2 max) test. Identifying perturbations in components of the Fick equation (Figure⇓ ) associated with this test is useful for diagnosis, for explaining signs and symptoms, and for evaluating therapeutic interventions. In this brief review we examine some commonly encountered pediatric disorders associated with exercise intolerance.

Figure 1.

Fick equation for maximal oxygen consumption (˙Vo2 max) and associated pediatric conditions that adversely affect its components. SV = stroke volume, HR = heart rate, Cao2 = oxygen content of arterial blood, Cvo2 = oxygen content of mixed venous blood.

Pulmonary Disorders

The two most common childhood pulmonary disorders associated with exercise intolerance are exercise-induced asthma (EIA) and cystic fibrosis (CF). Exercise intolerance may be a presenting symptom for other chronic lung dysfunctions, such as interstitial lung disease and alveolar proteinosis, but these are less common and are not discussed here.

EXERCISE-INDUCED ASTHMA (EIA)

Bronchoconstriction that develops during, or especially after, exercise is termed EIA. The prevalence of EIA in young people who have asthma ranges between 60% and …

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics in Review: 21 (1)
Pediatrics in Review
Vol. 21, Issue 1
1 Jan 2000
  • Table of Contents
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Exercise Intolerance
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Exercise Intolerance
Scott Owens, Bernard Gutin
Pediatrics in Review Jan 2000, 21 (1) 6-9; DOI: 10.1542/pir.21-1-6

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Exercise Intolerance
Scott Owens, Bernard Gutin
Pediatrics in Review Jan 2000, 21 (1) 6-9; DOI: 10.1542/pir.21-1-6
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • OBJECTIVES
    • Introduction
    • Pulmonary Disorders
    • Cardiac Disorders
    • Muscular Disorders
    • Hematologic Disorders
    • Psychogenic and Behavioral Causes
    • SUGGESTED READING
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • Erratum
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Preparing Children for International Travel
  • Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Childhood and Adolescence
  • Ear Abnormalities
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Pulmonology
    • Pulmonology
    • Respiratory Tract
  • Fetus/Newborn Infant
    • Fetus/Newborn Infant
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • ABP Content Specifications Map
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics