Omni Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion at Ventilatory Breakpoint by Direct Observation of Children's Kinematics

Direct kinematic observation was used to measure ratings of perceived exertion at the ventilatory breakpoint (RPE-Vpt) in 10- to 14-yr.-old girls (n = 22) and boys (n = 22). RPE for the overall body, legs, and chest were simultaneously estimated by a trained observer and self-rated by a subject during treadmill exercise using the Children's OMNI-Walk/Run Scale. Subjects' heart rate and oxygen consumption were measured during each minute of exercise. Vpt for the girls and boys, respectively, were 64.2 and 66.5% VO₂ max. RPE-Vpt ranged from 6.0 to 6.5 Overall, 7.1 to 7.6 Legs, and 5.0 to 5.5 Chest for both the observation and self-rating procedures. Responses indicated (a) RPE-Vpt (Overall, Legs, Chest) did not differ (p>.05) between the observer and self-rating procedures and (b) Observer RPE-Vpt-Legs was greater (p<.05) than RPE-Vpt-Chest. Findings validated direct kinematic observation to code group-normalized RPE-Vpt for girls and boys performing treadmill exercise.