Perceived exertion and energy expenditure during physical activities in healthy young people and older adults

Oyéné Kossi (1) , Justine Lacroix (1) , Maxence Compagnat (1, 2) , Jean Christophe Daviet (2, 1) , Stéphane Mandigout (1, 3)

1 HAVAE - Handicap, Activité, Vieillissement, Autonomie, Environnement
2 Service de Médecine Physique et de Réadaptation [CHU Limoges]
3 ILFOMER - institut des sciences de la réadaptation

Aim: To test the validity of Borg’s 6–20 rating of perceived exertion scale in assessing the exertion intensity over a multi-activity session in young and older adults.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included 56 healthy participants. All participants underwent a single session of activities including working on a computer, treadmill walking, biking, and treadmill running. Results: Results showed a non-significant correlation between the overall perceived exertion and energy expenditure in young people (Rho=−0.05, p=0.75) and in older adults (Rho=−0.05, p=0.78) for the whole session. However, results showed that older adults perceived significantly higher exertion compared to young people while working on a computer, walking and running, whereas they presented lower energy expenditure while resting and working on a computer. Conclusions: Combining the perceived exertion method with other commonly used methods to estimate exercise intensity would be recommended for older adults.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Oyéné Kossi, Justine Lacroix, Maxence Compagnat, Jean Christophe Daviet, Stéphane Mandigout. Perceived exertion and energy expenditure during physical activities in healthy young people and older adults. Folia Medica, 2021, 63 (4), pp.502-510. ⟨10.3897/folmed.63.e56679⟩. ⟨hal-03753282⟩