Cardiorespiratory fitness and coronary heart disease risk factor association in women

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and coronary risk factors in healthy, nonsmoking adult women.

Background. A sedentary life-style is recognized as an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, and increasing physical activity is strongly recommended to reduce this risk. However, studies examining the effects of increased physical activity on coronary heart disease risk factors in women are relatively few, and the findings have been equivocal.

Methods. Subjects provided written informed consent, completed a questionnaire on medical history and performed an exercise tolerance test. Blood chemistry and lipid levels were determined from fasting blood samples. Three fitness categories were established on the basis of treadmill time to exhaustion and were adjusted for age.

Results. The women in the lowest fitness category had less favorable lipid profiles, blood glucose levels, blood pressures and anthropometric indexes than those in the moderate and high fitness categories.

Conclusions. Moderate fitness (equivalent to 10 metabolic equivalents [METs]) is required to improve the coronary risk profile in women.