The upper limit of cardiorespiratory fitness associated with longevity: an update

Johannes Burtscher; Gerhard Ruedl; Markus Posch; Klaus Greier; Martin Burtscher

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2019.3.225

The upper limit of cardiorespiratory fitness associated with longevity: an update

AIMS Public Health. 2019 Jul 4;6(3):225-228. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2019.3.225. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Johannes Burtscher¹, Gerhard Ruedl², Markus Posch², Klaus Greier^{2

3}, Martin Burtscher²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of molecular and chemical biology of neurodegeneration, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
² Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
³ Department of Physical Education, Private University of Education (KPH-ES) Stams, Austria.

Abstract

In 2013, mortality reductions with improving cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) have been suggested to persist until 13 METs. More recently, accumulating evidence from large-scale studies suggests that mortality from all causes decreases with increasing CRF levels, apparently without upper limit of CRF. However, when baseline CRF is assessed in later life, upper limits of CRF decrease depending on the individual fitness level at baseline and the volume and intensity of physical activity performed during follow up. Consequently, both a CRF level as high as possible during early adulthood, achieved by appropriate exercise interventions, and a small CRF decline during later life, by continuation of regular physical activity, will help to optimize longevity.

Keywords: VO2max; cardiorespiratory; fitness; longevity; mortality.