The association among three aspects of physical fitness and metabolic syndrome in a Korean elderly population.

Hee-Jin Hwang,Sang-Hwan Kim

doi:10.1186/s13098-015-0106-4

Abstract

BackgroundThe purpose of current study is to evaluate the association between physical fitness level and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a Korean elderly population.MethodsA cross-sectional study measuring physical fitness and components of MS in a health promotion center of a general hospital for routine health check-ups. A total of 227 subjects >60 years old agreed to participate. A lifestyle questionnaire that included cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity was checked. Body weight, height, blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and glycated hemoglobin were measured. Muscular strength was assessed by measuring grasping power. Muscular endurance was evaluated using a sit-up test. Cardiopulmonary fitness was assessed via the Tecumseh step test (measuring hear rates at 1 min post-exercise).ResultsThe highest tertile muscular endurance group (sit-ups >15 in men, >10 in women) was 0.37 times less likely to have MS [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.17–0.84; p = 0.036] compared to that in the lowest tertile group (<11 in men, 0 in women), and the highest tertile in the cardiopulmonary fitness group (heart rate at rest >91/min in men, >92/min in women) was 2.81 times more likely to have MS (95 % CI 1.27–6.18; p = 0.038) compared to that in the lowest tertile group (<81/min in men, <80/min in women).ConclusionsCardiopulmonary fitness and muscular endurance were related to MS in a Korean elderly population after adjusting for age, sex, current smoker, current alcohol drinking, and physical activity. Older adults should be encouraged to increase their cardiopulmonary fitness and muscular endurance.

Highlights

The purpose of current study is to evaluate the association between physical fitness level and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a Korean elderly population
Most studies that have demonstrated the relationship between physical fitness and MS were performed with young Caucasian adults, and relatively few studies have been conducted among the Asian elderly population
This study reported the the association of physical fitness and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in selected population, in other words, elderly subjects and Korean population with measuring complete physical fitness

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of current study is to evaluate the association between physical fitness level and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a Korean elderly population. People with MS have low physical performance, and high level physical fitness could be helpful to prevent the development of chronic diseases independent of adiposity in youth and adults [4, 5]. Physical fitness is defined as the ability to carry out work necessary for muscle exercise [6]. It is generally considered “the ability to perform daily tasks without fatigue” [7].

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