Evaluating Cardiorespiratory Fitness Level of College Students: A Comparative Analysis Between Basketball and Football Classes

Abstract

Objectives. The study aimed to compare the cardiorespiratory fitness levels among male students majoring in football and basketball. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 60 students, divided into two groups: 30 students from the basketball class and 30 students from the football class. The average age of students in the football class was 22.03 ± 0.81, while in the basketball class, it was 22.07 ± 0.74. All participants were male and active strata 1 students in semesters 4 and 6, equivalent to second and third-year students. The cardiorespiratory fitness level was assessed using the Cooper 1.5 mile or 2.4 km Run Test. The data analysis was performed using a two-tailed independent sample t-test to determine differences between the two groups at a significance level of less than 5% (p<0.05). Prior to the t-test, normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and homogeneity was assessed using Levene’s statistics, with a significance level higher than 5% (p>0.05). Results. The findings revealed that students in the football class showed a higher VO₂max (42.54 ± 5.40) compared to those in the basketball class (37.86 ± 5.62), demonstrating a statistically significant difference (p = 0.002). Conclusions. The study found a significant disparity in cardiorespiratory fitness levels between the football and basketball student groups within the campus setting.