Cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity and incident asthma in adults

Abstract

Available large-scale prospective studies on adiposity and asthma used body mass index as an indicator of adiposity. Studies involving more accurate measures of adiposity, such as body fat percentage (BF%), are needed to confirm or contrast body mass index - related results. Cardiorepiratory fitness is a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality, and the available literature suggests that moderate-high cardiorespiratory fitness reduces many of the health hazards associated with obesity. The present study aimed: 1) to examine whether cardiorespiratory fitness and/or BF% are associated with subsequent acquisition of asthma in adults; and 2) to test the hypothesis that a high cardiorespiratory fitness level can reduce the risk of incident asthma in individuals with excess adiposity.