Caratterizzazione cardio metabolica di atleti in età evolutiva e confronto tra èlite e non èlite

The aim of this study was to compare the cardio metabolic responses in young athletes highlighting any differences between the categories elite and non-elite. Furthermore, we wanted to create a database of references for these categories of athletes, given the very poor and outdated present literature. 68 subjects were involved in this protocol (47 males and 21 females) whose mean ± standard deviation (SD) age, height, weight and BMI were respectively of 16 ± 0.8 years of age; 174 ± 8.8 cm; 63 ± 10.2 kg; 21 ± 2.4. The athletes were divided into two groups: the first (36 individuals) were part of the elite athletes, those enrolled in professional young teams; the second is made up of non-elite athletes (32 individuals). The protocol included the performance of two tests to be performed on different days. The first to be performed was an incremental test (CPX) on the treadmill. Then after an average delay of a day, an all-out (AOT)test was carried out for the determination of the anaerobic component. The breathing pattern was measured using a portable metabolimeter (VO2000, Med Graphics, USA), and the values were analyzed for mean ± standard deviation. A t-test for unpaired data was used to find statistically significant differences between the two groups (p <0.05). Regarding CPX, statistical analysis showed a difference only in the speed reached at maximum effort, with the other parameters being almost identical. Moreover, the all-out test showed this difference in both the maximum speed and the time of all-out. In light of the observations can be said that for subjects in childhood the number of hours per week of training, and the sport, do not affect significantly the development of physiological characteristics: the difference between elite and not could be found in the technical capabilities of the athlete.