200-Meter Fast Walk Test Normative Data for Young Healthy Individuals-An Observational Study

Objective To determine the normative data for the 200-mFWT for young healthy adults between the ages of 20 and 49 years. Design. Descriptive design. Participants Ninety apparently healthy individuals (45 males and 45 females) participated in this study. Setting New York Universitys Department of Physical Therapy and the LA Fitness Center in Secaucus New Jersey. Interventions The participants were classified into three age groups of 20 to 29, 30 to 39, and 40 to 49 years. Measures Time to perform the 200-mFWT, blood pressure, HR. RR and oxygen saturation before and after the test. Results. Slower walking time was affected by increasing age and female gender and also correlated with advancing age, gender, height, weight, and BMI. Blood pressure, HR, RR and perceived exertion were higher following the 200-mFWT. No significant sex difference was found in cardiovascular response to the 200-mFWT. Conclusions. Normative data are reported for the 200-mFWT for 20-49 year old healthy adults. Anthropometric variables contributed to the walking time. The cardiovascular parameters changed significantly following the 200-mFWT except for oxygen saturation.