Relation between cardiorespiratory fitness and selected risk factors for coronary heart disease in a population of Canadian men and women

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relation between cardiorespiratory fitness, as determined with the Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test (CAFT), and selected risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in a Canadian population.

Design: Cross-sectional study. On the basis of age-specific and sex-specific national percentile scores, subjects were classified as being in the low-fitness, moderate-fitness or high-fitness category according to maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max) predicted from performance on the CAFT.

Participants: A total of 4082 male and 1205 female Canadian federal public servants aged 30 to 59 years who participated in a voluntary fitness testing program between 1984 and 1991.

Outcome measures: Body composition (body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness, sum of four skinfold measurements, predicted percentage of body fat and waist-hip ratio), blood lipid levels (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-C) and hemodynamic measurements (heart rate and blood pressure at rest and during exercise and predicted VO2 max).

Main results: For both men and women the mean anthropometric measurements, blood lipid levels and blood pressure measurements at rest and after exercise were significantly associated with fitness category (p less than 0.05).

Conclusions: In both men and women a higher level of aerobic fitness, as defined by VO2 max predicted from performance on the CAFT, is associated with a more favourable CHD risk profile. The results support the use of VO2 max predicted from performance on the CAFT as a valid procedure for classifying people according to fitness level.