Is population's cardiorespiratory fitness really declining?

Abstract

Objective: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is defined as the capacity of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems to meet the oxygen demands of the body during physical work. Poor CRF is connected with a higher risk for the development of various noninfectious diseases such as cardiovascular disease or malignancies. The standard test for the assessment of CRF is exercise testing with the measurement of maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2 max). Standard VO 2 max values for adult men and women in the Czech Republic have been available since the 1970s without being updated. According to experts, these standard values are now unusable for contemporary CRF measurements of the population in the Czech Republic. The Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise: a National Database (FRIEND)-4,494 patients (1,717 men) defined new standard values for bicycle ergometry CRF for the population in the United States of America. The aim of the study was the statistical comparison of VO 2 max values (reference standards) in the 1970s population in the Czech Republic with the new reference standards of the FRIEND registry. Methods: All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS statistics and all tests with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: VO 2 max norms for women in the Czech population were higher in all age categories with statistically significant differences in the categories 30-39, 40−49 and 50-59 (p < 0.001). In the male population aged 20-29 years, VO 2 max was significantly higher in the FRIEND registry (p < 0.001) in contrast to the other age categories, 30-39, 40-49 and 50-59, which were significantly higher in the Czech population (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Czech VO 2 max population norms from the 1970s are (with the exception of age category 20-29 years) higher than values from the recent FRIEND registry.

Aerobic fitness as a parameter of importance for labour loss in the heat

“…37 The inclusion of VȮ 2max allows PWC to be more precisely estimated for the population of interest, since normative values may change over time and in different geographical regions. [38][39][40] We identified VȮ 2max as a strong predictor of work capacity in the heat in a recent review, 13 explained by alterations in cardiac and vasodilatory function, as well as a training-induced adaptation in sweating sensitivity. 16,17,41 Activity in our study was based on the maintenance of a fixed heart rate of 130 b•min −1 , where reductions in energy expenditure during the trial are due to an increased portion of the heart rate being required for skin blood flow (and consequently, less used for muscle blood flow).…”

Effect of ubiquinol on cardiorespiratory fitness during high-altitude acclimatization and de-acclimatization in healthy adults: the Shigatse CARdiorespiratory fitness study design

“…Cardiorespiratory fitness reflects the comprehensive ability of the body to transport and utilize oxygen and embodies the overall function of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems ( 49 , 50 ). VO 2 max is the gold standard for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness and an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality ( 51 – 53 ).…”