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Cardiorespiratory fitness levels among U.S. adolescents (1028.4)
Author(s) -
Gahche Jaime,
Fakhouri Tala,
Fulton Janet,
Carroll Dianna,
Wang ChiaYih,
Burt Vicki
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.1028.4
Subject(s) - cardiorespiratory fitness , overweight , vo2 max , physical fitness , aerobic exercise , national health and nutrition examination survey , multi stage fitness test , medicine , treadmill , demography , physical activity , physical therapy , gerontology , psychology , obesity , heart rate , environmental health , population , blood pressure , sociology
Physical activity (PA) can improve cardiorespiratory fitness in youth. Federal guidelines recommend children and adolescents do 60+ minutes of PA daily, with most of the activity being moderate or vigorous intensity aerobic PA. Data from 450 youth, aged 12‐15 years, who participated in the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) were used for this analysis. The NNYFS was a one‐year survey designed to collect nationally representative data on PA and fitness levels of youth in the US. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) was estimated using a submaximal treadmill test. The percentage of youth in the healthy cardiorespiratory fitness zone (HFZ, based on FITNESSGRAM performance standards) was based on the estimated VO2max values. Overall, 41.9% (SE 2.8) of youth aged 12‐15 years were in the HFZ. More boys (50.2% (SE 3.7)) than girls (33.2% (SE 2.8)) were in the HFZ. No significant differences were observed by race and Hispanic origin. Of those categorized in the HFZ, more youth of normal weight (54.3% (2.8)) compared with overweight (29.2% (SE 5.4)) or obese (17% (SE 4.6)) youth, were in the HFZ. A higher percentage of youth in the HFZ met aerobic PA guidelines (35.0% (SE 1.8)) compared with those not in the HFZ (22.6% (2.3)). Our findings indicate that while half of boys aged 12‐15 years old were categorized in the HFZ, only about one‐third of girls were categorized in the HFZ. It is important to continue to assess aerobic fitness levels in youth on a national level in order to monitor the progress of interventions and federal guidelines aimed at promoting PA in youth.