Centre for Human and Applied Physiology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia (Dr Burdon and Dr Middleton); Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Group, Melbourne, Australia (Mr Carstairs and Dr Linnane); and Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Sport, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia (Dr Middleton).
Address correspondence to: Catriona A. Burdon, PhD, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia ([email protected]).
Clinical significance: When characterizing occupational demands, researchers often use mean or peak values or 1 standard deviation above the mean. However, mean oxygen consumption is unlikely to adequately characterize non-steady-state tasks. Therefore, using time spent in different oxygen-consumption zones may represent a superior method for characterizing physical activities of intermittent intensity.
CB and KM were funded by a collaboration between Defence Science and Technology Group and the University of Wollongong.
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
