Pacing Strategy in Schoolchildren Differs with Age and Cognitive Development

Purpose: The study's purpose was to examine differences in pacing strategy between schoolchildren of different age, gender, and stage of cognitive development. Methods: Schoolchildren (n = 106) from four age groups (5-6, 8-9, 11-12, and 14 yr) participated in this study. Each schoolchild completed four conservation tasks to evaluate his or her Piagetian stage of cognitive development. Each schoolchild then performed a best-effort running task on a 150-m running track that was video recorded to analyze pace at 5% increments. The length of the run was varied for each age group to ensure that all schoolchildren were running for approximately 4 min (5-6 yr = 450 m, 8-9 yr = 600 m, 11-12 yr = 750 m, and 14 yr = 900 m). Results: Differences in pacing strategy were found between schoolchildren of different age (P < 0.0001), gender (P < 0.0001), and cognitive development (P < 0.0001). Pacing differences were also found between age groups after controlling for cognitive development (P < 0.001), between cognitive abilities after controlling for age (P < 0.01), and between genders after controlling for both age (P < 0.0001) and cognitive ability (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Younger schoolchildren with less advanced cognitive development exhibited a negative pacing strategy indicating an inability to anticipate exercise demand. Older schoolchildren at a more advanced stage of cognitive development exhibited a more conservative U-shaped pacing strategy characterized by faster running speeds during the first 15% and last 20% of the run. Anticipatory pacing strategy seems to be related to both the age and cognitive development of schoolchildren. Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Sports Medicine.