Development of Non-Exercise Prediction of Maximal Oxygen Consumptionin Sedentary Healthy Young Men

Background: Cardio -respiratory fitness depends on the respiratory, cardiovascular, and skeletal muscle systems and, therefore, is an important component of health and physical fitness The purpose of this study was to develop a regression equation to predict maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) based on non-exercise (N-EX) data and to investigate the validity of these equations in healthy young men. Methods: One hundred healthy men (age: 18-26 years) were randomly divided in two equal groups (n= 50). All participants, successfully completed a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) to assess VO2max (Mean = 45.56 ml.kg-1.min-1, SD = 4.14). The N-EX data collected just before the maximal GXT including participants' age; body mass index (BMI); perceived functional ability (PFA) to walk, jog, or run given distances; and current physical activity (PA-R) level. Methodological differences among these methods (new equation and GXT in the validation group) were analyzed with Bland-Altman (1986) method. Results: A good c orrelation coefficients were observed between VO2max and BMI (r = -0.50), PFA (r = 0.71) and PA-R (r = 0.70) in the development group (P < 0.05). MulƟple linear regression generated the following N-EX prediction equation: VO2max (ml. kg -1. min -1) = 47.718 – (0.38516 . BMI) + (0.8541 . PA -R) + (0.2539 . PFA). When new VO2max prediction equation was applied to the validation group, high agreement were also observed between measured VO2max by GXT and predicted VO2max (mean ± SD: 0.58 ± 2.53) ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: This study provided an N-EX regression model that yields relatively accurate results and it is a convenient way to predict VO2max in Azerbaijan–Iranian young men with a similar cardio-respiratory fitness level. The authors recommend further studies to elucidate generality of the new equation.