Cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in Canadian university athletes compared with age-matched normative values

Purpose This cohort study examined the body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness of male and female university athletes in comparison to age matched normative data. Methods A total of 211 Canadian university student athletes (♀ = 102 and ♂ = 109) from multiple varsity sports (basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, ice-hockey) were examined. Anthropometric and cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed during the pre-season period for each team. Body composition was evaluated via BOD POD and cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using the YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level-1. Descriptive statistics (Mean ± SD) were calculated for comparisons against established age-matched normative data. A one-way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD for post-hoc comparisons was utilized to examine differences in body fat (%) and cardiorespiratory fitness between varsity programs. Results When compared to age matched data, cardiorespiratory fitness for females was classified as “average”. Body fat (%) was 23.7 ± 6.7 and ranked in the 35th–40th percentile and classified as “average”. When compared to age matched data, cardiorespiratory fitness for males was ranked as “good”. Body fat (%) was in the 70th percentile and classified as “above average”. Significant differences in body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness between varsity programs were observed in both sexes. Conclusion These findings suggest greater emphasis towards enhancing cardiorespiratory performance and monitoring body composition is warranted to support the immediate and potential long-term health of university student athletes.