A Comprehensive Model for Estimating Heat Vulnerability of Young Athletes

Abstract

Current methods for estimating heat vulnerability of young athletes use a heat index (HI) or a wet bulb globe thermometer (WBGT), neither of which fully include the environmental or physiological characteristics that can affect a person’s heat budget, particularly where activity occurs on a synthetic surface. This study analyzed and compared the standard methods, HI and WBGT, with a novel and more comprehensive method termed COMFA-Kid (CK) which is based on an energy budget model explicitly designed for youth. The COMFA model was presented at the same time to demonstrate the difference between a child and an adult during activity. Micrometeorological measurements were taken at a synthetic-surfaced football field during mid-day in hot environmental conditions. Standard methods (HI and WBGT) indicated that conditions on the field were relatively safe for youth to engage in activities related to football practice or games, whereas the CK method indicated that conditions were dangerously hot and could lead to exertional heat illness. Estimates using the CK method also indicated that coaches and staff standing on the sidelines, and parents sitting in the stands, would not only be safe from heat but would be thermally comfortable. The difference in thermal comfort experienced by coaches and staff off the field, versus that experienced by young players on the field, could affect decision making regarding the duration and intensity of practices and time in the game. The CK method, which is easy to use and available for modification for specific conditions, would lead to more accurate estimates of heat safety on outdoor synthetic surfaces in particular, and in sports with a high prevalence of heat illness such as football, and should be considered as a complementary or alternative preventive measure against heat.

A Low-Cost Sensor Network for Real-Time Thermal Stress Monitoring and Communication in Occupational Contexts

“…T mrt calculated from the custom-made black globe thermometer and the two versions of T mrt calculated by the IR and L were compared to T mrt measured by a Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress Tracker (Nielsen-Kellerman Co., Boothwyn, PA, USA), which uses a commercial black globe thermometer to determine T mrt and which was placed next to a MoBiMet in an office in Freiburg (Germany) for two weeks in August 2021. The mobile Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress Tracker can be used to determine human thermal comfort [49,50] and costs about seven times as much as the material for the MoBiMet (without anemometer). Furthermore, T IRT inferred directly from the IR sensor and T a were set as T mrt , resulting in a total of five different estimates of T mrt by the MoBiMet (Table 2), which were then compared to T mrt provided by the Kestrel.…”

“…When the systems are exposed to direct solar radiation, the MoBiMet underestimates T a , T mrt, and PET values compared to the Kestrel. This can be partly explained by the radiation error of T a measurements of the Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress Tracker, which has an exposed, unshielded thermistor [49,50], leading to higher T a and PET values of the Kestrel during direct solar radiation. On the other hand, the radiation shield of the MoBiMet can lead to a small delay when T a changes quickly.…”

Applicability of Assessment Indices for Hanok-User Sensory Comfort Based on Visual and Tactile Comfort Evaluation Indicators

“…The design time for environmental factors was set to 24 h, and data were measured using Testo 480, which is a comprehensive environmental measuring device. All collected data were calculated in 1 h time steps using the PMV Calculator function of the Ladybug series, an environmental analysis plug-in of the Rhino Grasshopper program [26,27]. All of the program and equipment information used in the measuring plan is written in Table 9.…”

Proposing the flexible application of heat safety thresholds for junior high and high school sports clubs in Japan

“…Despite the nationwide standard for exercise decision-making based on the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) [6], developing heat safety thresholds (HSTs) that consider conditions beyond environmental factors (such as sport type, location, region, and school) remains a challenge [7]. To verify HSTs across different sports, methods based on the 90th percentile WBGT during the warm season in regions of the continental USA [8] and those based on the energy balance of the human body [9] have been proposed. However, there have been few proposals on HSTs based on epidemiological analyses of heat illness incidents.…”