Cardiopulmonary fitness but not muscular fitness associated with visceral adipose tissue mass

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the association between physical fitness (cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal) and the distribution of abdominal fat in overweight and obese adults. Methods Of the total 102 overweight and obese participants, 99 participants completed all measurements. Cardiopulmonary fitness was assessed by maximal oxygen consumption test and muscular fitness was assessed using 10 repetition max. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were assessed by computed tomography (CT) at the level of lumbar spine 4–5. Results Cardiopulmonary fitness was inversely associated with both VAT and SAT, while muscular fitness only inversely associated with SAT. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that gender, age, and cardiopulmonary fitness, but not muscular fitness, were associated with VAT, and age, cardiopulmonary fitness, and muscular fitness were significantly associated with SAT. Conclusions Cardiopulmonary fitness is more closely related to both VAT and SAT while muscular fitness is related with SAT.