Relation of body mass index, physical fitness, and the cardiovascular risk profile in 3127 young normal weight men with an apparently optimal lifestyle

Abstract

Obesity is a well-accepted cardiovascular risk factor associated with hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. A body mass index (BMI) within the range of 18.5-25 kg/m 2 is considered normal. To prevent cardiovascular diseases regular physical activity and abstinence from smoking are strongly recommended. Since it is not evident that a lower optimal threshold exists concerning cardiovascular risk factors if other lifestyle conditions are apparently optimised, we studied the relation between BMI and vascular risk factors in 3127 hyperhealthy Caucasian males. They were aged between 18 and 23 y, were nonsmokers, without regular alcohol intake, and had at least 3 h of sports activity per week. Their BMI was below 25 kg/m 2 . Low BMI revealed to be significantly associated with high physical fitness, low blood pressure, and low serum lipids. The lower the BMI was, the more favourable these parameters were. Thus, the threshold for an optimal BMI concerning cardiovascular risk factors might be far below 25 kg/m 2 even if other lifestyle conditions are apparently optimal.

Correlation Relationship Assessment between Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Voltage Criteria and Body Mass Index in 41,806 Swiss Conscripts

“…We found 25.1% of all Swiss conscripts to be overweight and 5.2% obese. These impressive results have clinically important consequences 27,31,32,35 and match other studies. Papdimitrou, 36 Padez, 37 and Neovius 38 have found similar results—in young Greeks, a prevalence of 28.5% for overweight (10.4% obese), in Portuguese conscripts, 21.3% (4.2% obese), and in Swedish conscripts, 16.3% (3.2% obese), respectively.…”

“…The sensitivity is usually less than 50% while the specificity is often in the range of 85–90% 20 . Several extracardiac factors including age, gender, race, and body habitus may have an impact on ECG‐based LVH classification 8,12,13,15 , 18–32 …”

Cigarette Smoking and Blood Insulin, Glucose, and Lipids in Young Japanese Women

“…Besides, all subjects in the present study were matched for age, BMI, and physical activity scores, which were considered to differ between smokers and nonsmokers. [26][27][28][29][30][31] It has also been reported that smokers are more likely to have unhealthy dietary practices, 32) however, mean nutrient intakes showed no apparent differences between smokers and nonsmokers in our study. To avoid the influence of acute effects of CS 33) and menstrual cycle phase on insulin and other metabolic factors, the smokers were refrained from smoking for 24 hr before blood sampling, which were taken between days 7 and 9 of the menstrual cycle.…”

The Soldier-Athlete Initiative: Program Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Athletic Trainers Compared to Musculoskeletal Action Teams in Initial Entry Training, Fort Leonard Wood, June 2010 - December 2011

“…The authors found that physical work capacity (PWC170, a measure of cardiorespiratory endurance) decreased with increasing BMI even in this narrow BMI range. 91 Data from these two studies are consistent with those of the present study in the normal to obese range. However, they did not examine those with very low BMI (<18.5 kg/m 2 ).…”