Cardiorespiratory fitness and body fat percentage in young adults

Relevance. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) is the maximum amount of oxygen an individual can breathe in and utilize it to produce energy aerobically. The global epidemic of overweight and obesity -’globesity’ is emerging as a public health problem in many parts of the world. Almost 30-65 % of adult urban Indians is either overweight or obese or has abdominal obesity. Recently, cardiovascular ailments are increasing in the younger generation. Low levels of cardiovascular fitness and unfavorable cardiovascular risk profiles are detected in them. Total body fatness and aerobic capacity are frequently used in association with each other and it is often implied that these parameters are strongly inter-related. Both body fatness and status aerobic fitness have been shown to be risk factors for future health outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation of cardio-respiratory fitness with body fat percentage in young adults. Materials and Methods. This was a pilot study conducted in a group of 100 subjects of age group 18 to 25 years. Ethical clearance was obtained from institutional ethical committee and written informed consent were taken from all subjects participated in the study. Following parameters were taken (a) anthropometric parameters, (b) body fat percentage, (c) physical activity level and (d) VO2max. Results and Discussion. The mean ± SD for age, height, weight, global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ score) and VO2max was found to be higher in male participants as compared to female participants while BMI was almost equal in both the genders but body fat percentage was higher in female participants. There was positive non-significant correlation of VO2max with body mass index and global physical activity in female subjects but positive significant in male subjects. And moderate negative correlation between body fat percentage and VO2max in male and female subjects but not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion. Body fat percentage was negatively correlated with maximum oxygenconsumption (VO2 max).