Six-Minute Walk Test among obese and nonobese subjects: A comparative analysis among apparently healthy volunteers

Abstract

Abstract Context: The Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) is a simple measure for objective assessment of physical fitness and exercise tolerance. It has also been standardized to follow up on the prognosis and progression of chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Though there are standardized formulas for analyzing the 6MWT results concerning age, height, weight, regional, and ethnic population these should be revisited considering the wider variations of subjects in the reference studies. Aim: This article aims to compare the 6MWT performance among obese and nonobese, apparently healthy volunteers. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Physiology Department, AIIMS Kalyani, West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: Age and sex-matched apparently healthy volunteers were included in the study after their consent. After collection of anthropometric data, they were divided into two groups; group A with body mass index (BMI) <30 kg/m2 and group B with BMI >30 kg/m2. The 6MWT was implemented according to standard guidelines; the Six-Minute Walk Distance (6MWD) and other parameters were noted. Statistical analysis was performed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 17 (IBM Corp., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The results revealed that a comparison was done between actual values and predicted values of 6MWD. Among obese groups, the actual 6MWD covered was significantly lesser than the predicted values. Significant differences were also found between the two groups concerning Borg score, Calculated volume of oxygen max, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respiratory rate, heart rate, and Peripheral capillary oxygen saturation. Conclusions: The results revealed that our result shows that the weight-based reference equation for interpretation of 6MWT may not be sufficient for obese subjects.