Six-minute walk test in obese children and adolescents: reproducibility and validity.

Background And Purpose: The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is increasingly used in clinical practice. The aims of this study were to determine the reproducibility of the 6MWT in obese children and adolescents, to describe walking capacity in this population and compare the results with values from normal-weight children (known group validity), and, finally, to describe the correlation between distance walked and estimated maximum oxygen uptake (VO(2)max).

Methods: Reproducibility was determined by a test-retest design and known group validity by a comparative design.