Background: A high level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important protector against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Aim: To explore the association of CRF with several metabolic markers and estimate the variation of these parameters by an increase of 1 MET change in CRF.
Material and methods: Cross-sectional study of 447 adults (56% women) without medical history of cardiometabolic diseases. Physical activity evaluated using accelerometry, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood glucose and insulin and lipid profile were measured. HOMA-IR was calculated with fasting glucose and insulin levels. The submaximal Chester Step Test was used to measure CRF.
Results: CRF was significantly associated with the level and intensity of physical activity, and all metabolic markers (p-trend < 0.05), except with diastolic blood pressure. It was estimated that 1-MET increase in CRF is associated with waist circumference (β -0.32 cm), fat mass (β -0.22%), insulin (β -0.67 pmol.l-1), HOMA-IR (β -0.17) and HDL cholesterol (β +1.46 mg.dl-1). All these associations were independent of main covariates such as age, sex, education, smoking and body mass index.
Conclusions: A higher level of CRF is inversely associated with several metabolic markers that are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.