Assessment of Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Obese College Students using Coopers 12 Min Run Test

Abstract

Background: The ability of the cardiorespiratory system to supply oxygen to active skeletal muscles during prolonged sub-maximal exercise and the ability of the skeletal muscles to perform aerobic metabolism is known as Cardiorespiratory Endurance. The highest attainable rate of aerobic metabolism during the performance of dynamic work that exhausts the subject within 5–10 min is internationally accepted as an index of one's cardiorespiratory fitness and it is defined as VO2max. A popular test used for measuring cardiorespiratory endurance (VO2max) is Cooper’s 12 min run test. A good predictor for overall health and nutritional status is BMI. This study was conducted to assess the cardiorespiratory endurance in obese college students using coopers 12 min run test. Methods: A total of 100 college students were included who met the inclusion criteria. The students were told to do 12 min coopers run test after a 5 min of warm up. After the test, the distance was recorded. Result: The result shows that the cardiorespiratory endurance is reduced in obese college students. According to the data obtained, 51% of obese participants have good cardiorespiratory endurance and 30% and 19% have fair and poor respectively. Conclusion: This study concluded that the cardiorespiratory endurance is reduced in obese college students using Coopers 12 minute run test. Lower cardiorespiratory endurance has risk to develop cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and other chronic diseases. So, to improve the endurance one should reduce the weight and start exercising regularly. Keywords: [Obese college students, cardiorespiratory endurance, VO2 max]