Aerobic endurance in young female athletes in respect to sexual maturation, age and growth

Abstract

The aims of this study were, in young female athletes: a) to describe the development of aerobic endurance in relation to different sexual maturation stages by each chronological age; b) to verify the existence of significant differences among the sexual maturation stages in each age; c) to describe the development of aerobic endurance in relation to different ages by each sexual stage; d) to verify the existence of significant differences among the ages by each sexual stage; e) to verify the influence of chronological age, sexual maturation, adiposity, muscularity, physical growth and kind of sport on aerobic endurance. The sample comprised 305 female young athletes from 10 to 17 years of age, of basketball, handball, soccer and track and field, who were measured for their physical growth, adiposity, muscularity, sexual maturation stage and aerobic endurance. The variance and multiple regression analyses indicated that sexual maturation had no significant influence on the aerobic endurance of these female young athletes.