Hypohydration during exercise in children: effect on thirst, drink preferences, and rehydration.

This study examined changes in children's thirst and drink preferences during exercise-induced hypohydration and their spontaneous rehydration during a 30-min recovery. Twenty-four 9- to 13-year-old children (14 females, 10 males) participated in four intermittent 90-min cycling sessions in the heat (35 degrees C, 20% relative humidity); the sessions differed in the drinks the children were sampling (apple, orange, water, and grape). Thirst and drink preferences were assessed (analog and category scales) while children dehydrated up to about 0.76% of their initial body weight. During 90 min dehydration, there was an increase in thirst intensity for all drinks. The grape was the preferable drink throughout the dehydration phase, but its desirability did not increase as much as the desirability of the orange, apple, and water drinks. During the 30-min recovery, most subjects rehydrated spontaneously, exceeding baseline levels by 0.76 +/- 0.15% (M +/- SEM) for grape, 0.40 +/- 0.15 for apple, 0.71 +/- 0.18 for orange, and 0.48 +/- 0.16 for water. Although full rehydration was achieved with all drinks, the magnitude of rehydration was statistically greater with grape and orange than water and apple (p < .05). It was concluded that mild hypohydration during exercise increased children's thirst and drink desirability. In general, spontaneous overshoot of fluid consumption occurred during recovery.

Muscle performance and gross motor function of children with spastic cerebral palsy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether, and to what extent, performance on a measure of motor function (Gross Motor Function Measure, GMFM) was related to the physiological fitness of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Two elements of physiological function were measured: aerobic power and anaerobic power of the arms and legs. 15 boys and eight girls aged between seven and 13.9 years with spastic CP participated in the study. There was a good relationship between the standing and walking, running and jumping sub-sections and the total score of the GMFM on one hand, and anaerobic capacity of the legs on the other. However, the relationships for the arms were limited, indicating that the GMFM is not a suitable tool for providing information about aerobic fitness in children with CP, or about anaerobic power of the arms.