An assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness in normal weight , overweight and obese young adults

Background & Objectives: There has been a worldwide increase in obesity among people of all ages. With increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) in overweight & obese individuals, body’s ability to cope-up with physical stress of exercise can be impaired. The objective of present study was to evaluate the cardio respiratory fitness in terms of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) in normal weight, overweight, and obese young adults of, Mullana, Haryana, India. Methods: 210 healthy students of Maharishi Markandeshwar University (MMU), between the age group of 18-30 years were randomly selected for this cross-sectional study. The selected subjects, which include equal number of male and female students, were divided into three groups (70 in each group), according to BMI classification of WHO. Group Isubjects with BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 (Normal weight),Group IIsubjects with BMI 25.0-29.9kg/m2(Overweight),Group IIIsubjects with BMI ≥30kg/m2(Obese). Cardio respiratory fitness (VO2max)was measured indirectly by the Queen’s College Step Test (QCT). Results: VO2max was significantly decreased in normal to overweight subjects (p<0.01), and overweight to obese subjects (p <0.05), and very highly significantly (p<0.001) decreased in normal to obese subjects. VO2max was also found to be very highly significantly (p<0.001) less in females as compared to males in all the three groups. Interpretation & conclusion: It is thus concluded that there is an adverse effect of obesity and lack of exercise on cardio respiratory parameters. A significant reduction in VO2max was seen with increase in BMI.