VALIDITY OF FIELD TESTS TO ESTIMATE CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature to verify the validity of field-tests to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in children and adolescents. DATA SOURCES: The electronic search was conducted in the databases: Medline (PubMed), SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Web of Science, in addition to the Latin American databases LILACS and SciELO. The search comprised the period from the inception of each database until February 2015, in English and Portuguese. All stages of the process were performed in accordance with the PRISMA flow diagram. DATA SYNTHESIS: After confirming the inclusion criteria, eligibility, and quality of the studies, 43 studies were analyzed in full; 38 obtained through the searches in the electronic databases, and 5 through private libraries, and references from other articles. Of the total studies, only 13 were considered high quality according to the adopted criteria. The most commonly investigated test in the literature was the 20-meter shuttle run (SR-20 m), accounting for 23 studies, followed by tests of distances between 550 meters and 1 mile, in 9 studies, timed tests of 6, 9, and 12 minutes, also 9 studies, and finally bench protocols and new test proposals represented in 7 studies. CONCLUSIONS: The SR-20-m test seems to be the most appropriate to evaluate the CRF of young people with the equation of Barnett, recommended to estimate VO(2) peak. As an alternative for evaluating CRF, the 1-mile test is indicated with the equation proposed by Cureton for estimating VO(2) peak.