Lack of motivation may be another problem with using the test in children. But Dr. Ralf Geiger, from Innsbruck Medical University in Austria, and colleagues found that a simple wheel-like device, which the child rolls along the ground while taking the walk test, to provides incentive for completing the test. The wheel provides instantaneous feedback regarding the distance walked.

In a study of 528 healthy children and adolescents between 3 and 18 years of age, the modified 6-minute walk test "proved to be safe, easy to perform, and highly acceptable to children," Geiger and colleagues report in The Journal of Pediatrics.

It provides a "simple and inexpensive" way for doctors to detect limits on physical activity in children, even of young age, and might be of value in the research setting.

In their study, Geiger's team found that the distance the children could walk in 6 minutes was directly related to their age in both boys and girls younger than 12 years. In older children, the distance walked continued to increase with age in boys, but plateaued in girls. Height was directly linked to the distance achieved in both genders. These data may be helpful for establishing reference values for using the test in children.

SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics April 2007.

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