Title : Physical fitness from the point of view of personalized medicine.
Abstract:
The cardiorespiratory system is characterized by a high range of effort adaptability. An objective measure of its capacity (cardiorespiratory fitness - CRF) is the maximum oxygen consumption VO2max, often expressed in terms of VO2max/kg per kilogram of body weight. While the average values ??of these parameters in adult healthy men are 3.0 to 3.3 l/min and 40-45 ml/min/kg, in adult healthy women they are 2.00 to 2.10 l/min and 32 to 36 ml/kg min/kg, the values ??of trained endurance athletes are up to twice as high. In contrast, according to the NYHA* classification, healthy people should reach at least 9 METs, i.e. to be able to increase their resting metabolism by at least nine times. This corresponds to VO2max/kg values ??for a 75 kg male of 2.63 l/min (VO2max) and 31.5 ml/min (VO2max/kg). Even these relatively very benevolent values ??are not reached by a significant part of the adult population, and thus fall into one of the cardiac groups NYHA I to NYHA IV. Knowing personal CRF level or at least indirectly evaluating personal fitness is an important biomarker of health. Low CRF is associated with a low "fitness age" and correlates with a higher prevalence of non-communicable diseases and premature death from all causes. Optimal physical activity is one of the most important preventive means to extend Healthy Life Years.
In our cross-sectional study, we analyzed age-related changes in CRF in 2777 subjects (2015 men and 762 women) examined between 1992 and 2015. As expected, endurance athletes and team sports athletes achieved above-average CRF values. The group of leisure-time athletes and non-athletes was characterized only by an average CRF, corresponding to the average population according to the IBP (International Biological Program) study.
Lack of physical activity is a significant, but not the only, risk factor. Recently (in 2017), Clinic Compare (UK) did a study on the health status of the population in 179 countries using three parameters: alcohol consumption, tobacco use and prevalence of obesity. All three of these factors have their own equally serious set of health-related risks. This study ranked the Czech Republic as the least healthy country in the world. This study ranked the Czech Republic as the least healthy country in the world. The aforementioned risk factors and the Covid-19 pandemic are behind the decline in average life expectancy in the last two years. The average resident of the Czech Republic lives with a chronic disease for 20 years, and if any unexpected health problem appears, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be fatal for them.
According to WHO, the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases of mass appearance is 70% influenced by lifestyle. People cannot be mere consumers of healthcare, but active participants who are responsible for their own health in their own interests.
