Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Disease in 8-to 15-Year Old Boys

A sample of 399 boys, 8 to 15 years of age, underwent a comprehensive evaluation to determine the extent to which coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors are related to an estimate of cardiorespiratory fitness. The boys were divided into four groups on the basis of their directly measured VO2max. Significant differences were found between fitness groups for relative body fat, plasma triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure divided by height, with the higher fitness groups exhibiting substantially lower values. When covariance analyses were conducted, adjusting for differences in age and relative body fat, the differences in blood pressure were no longer statistically significant. No differences were found between fitness groups for total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, or the ratio of HDL/TC. It is concluded that there is not a strong relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and CAD risk factors in boys 8- to 15-years of age.