Establishing modified Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test (mCAFT) cut-points to detect clustered cardiometabolic risk among Canadian children and youth aged 9 to 17 years.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish cut-points to identify potential clustered cardiometabolic risk among children (aged 9-13 years) and youth (aged 14-17 years) using the modified Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test (mCAFT). Nationally representative cross-sectional data were obtained from cycles 1 and 2 (2007-2011) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using the mCAFT, which was used to estimate peak oxygen consumption. Clustered cardiometabolic health was identified as the mean of 4 standardized variables: sum of 4 skinfolds; total cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio; and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In total, 2106 (49% female) participants were retained for this analysis. The optimal mCAFT cut-point for males was 49 and 46 mL·kg-1·min-1 among children and youth, respectively. Among females, the mCAFT cut-point was 46 and 37 mL·kg-1·min-1 among children and youth, respectively. In 2016-2017, 83% of females and 71% of males met the new mCAFT cut-points. The mCAFT cut-points can help identify children and youth at potential risk of poor cardiometabolic health in public health surveillance, clinical, and school-based settings. Novelty We developed new mCAFT cut-points to identify potential clustered cardiometabolic risk among Canadian children and youth. These mCAFT cut-points can be used to inform national health surveillance efforts.