engleski

The relationships between physical readiness and cardiovascular fitness

Recent studies have shown that muscular and aerobic fitness are independently associated with cardiovascular risk. Whether the protective effect of physical fitness could be ascribed dominantly to its impact on overweight and obesity remained to be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the relations between muscular and cardio-respiratory fitness tests and cardiovascular risks in younger and middle age adults. The subject sample consisted of 279 members of the Croatian Armed Forces, aged between 19 and 42 years (29 ± 5, 6 years). Physical readiness was assessed through Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and 2 additional tests covering muscular and aerobic endurance. Maximal aerobic test was performed on a treadmill (Cosmed, Italy) and relative oxygen uptake and maximum speed obtained on the treadmill, were used to estimate the aerobic endurance. Height, weight and three skin folds were measured following standardized procedures. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated and fat percentage (%BF) was assessed by the anthropometric method (Jackson and Pollock, 1988). Blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (BGL), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides (TG), fibrinogen (FBG) and uric acid (UA) were measured. Factor analysis was used for determining the structure of the physical readiness and testing the factor validity of the tests used in the research. The Pearson correlations were used, to analyze the relations between physical readiness tests and risk indicators. Significant negative correlations with the general physical readiness factor were found for age, BMI, %BF, BP, TC, LDL, TC/HDL, triglycerides, UA, and fibrinogen. After adjustment for age, BMI and %BF, significant correlations with the general physical readiness factor persisted for TC, TC/HDL and TG were found.

fitness ; strength ; heart

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