Coronary heart disease risk factors, physical activity, and fitness in young Danes

In a random sample of young Danish adults (86 men and 115 women, 23-27 yr of age) maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), physical activity (PA), blood pressure, blood lipids, body fat content, and smoking habits were studied. Cholesterol, triglyceride and body fat related negatively to VO2max. The ratio HDL/total cholesterol was positively related to VO2max (r = 0.3, P < 0.001), but no relationship was observed for HDL cholesterol. No association was found between PA and any of the risk factors. The relationships between different measures of PA and directly measured VO2max was around r = 0.3. No relationship existed between heart rate recorded during submaximal testing and PA (r = 0.0), which indicates that the method of assessing VO2max is important in demonstrating relationships to PA and risk factors. In conclusion, a favorable coronary heart disease risk profile was related to a higher VO2max, but not to time spent on physical activity. This suggests that in this age group intensity must be high enough to have an effect on VO2max before a preventive effect is present.