Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in Collegiate Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was: to validate metabolic equivalents (METs)·hr/week by comparing with maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) as a measure of physical activities, to examine the relationships between METs·hr/week, VO₂max, and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors according to the goals of METs·hr/week and VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1 for health promotion set in the Exercise Guide 2006, and to examine which is more related with CHD risk factors: METs·hr/week or VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1? Subjects were 116 collegiate women. MET intensities were assigned to each specific activity. VO₂max was estimated with a bicycle ergometer. METs·hr/week was significantly correlated (r=0.514, p<0.01) with VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1. After adjusting appropriate confounding factors in the forward stepwise multiple regression analyses, METs·hr/week was significantly positively related with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), while the estimated VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1 was significantly positively related with HDL-C and total cholesterol (TC) and negatively related with log systolic blood pressure (SBP). After adjusting for body mass index (BMI) in the analysis of covariance, the highest category of METs·hr/week (≥23) had significantly higher HDL-C than other lower categories. The highest category of VO₂max (≥33ml·kg^-1·min^-1) had significantly higher HDL-C and TC and lower SBP than the lowest category. In conclusion, METs·hr/week was valid measures for quantifying physical activity, and the goals of METs·hr/week and VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1 set in the Exercise Guide 2006 were valid. VO₂max in ml·kg^-1·min^-1 was related to greater number of CHD risk factors than METs·hr/week in young women.