Validity of a Pediatric RPE Scale When Different Exercise Intensities are Completed on Separate Days

Typically pediatric-specific ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) validation studies have utilized a perceptual estimation paradigm consisting of a single exercise test that incrementally increased in intensity. This may result in an overestimation of concurrent validity as the increases in exercise intensity and participant recall of their previous RPE likely encourages participants to respond with increases in RPE. The purpose of the present study was to assess the concurrent validity of the Cart and Load Effort Rating (CALER) RPE scale in children exercising either above or below the ventilatory threshold (> T, T on another day. Heart rate (HR) and RPE were recorded during the final 20 seconds of each minute of exercise. HR and RPE increased from T (p < 0.001). Univariate correlations demonstrated a moderate relationship between HR and RPE (r = 0.30). Multilevel model regression demonstrated that RPE scores were positively associated with HR (estimate = 2.06 CALER, p < 0.01). Pediatric RPE scores assessed on separate days appropriately increased with exercise intensity and were positively associated with HR. However, the RPE-HR relationships are lower than for research that used exercise tests that incrementally increased in intensity within the same session.