Overview

• Published June 13 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the trial assessed 68 children (ages 10–16) and 24 adults during three 45-minute treadmill sessions at 30°C and 40°C.
• Ingestible temperature sensors and pre- and post-exercise body mass measurements showed identical core temperature increases and dehydration rates across age groups.
• An adult sweat-rate calculator predicted 80.5% of the variation in children’s sweat loss, demonstrating its reliability for guiding youth hydration.
• Results overturn long-standing assumptions about pediatric heat vulnerability and fill critical evidence gaps that shaped previous conservative guidelines.
• Findings directly support the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2011 policy that well-hydrated children regulate heat as effectively as adults.