Peak oxygen consumption and the minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production relation slope in morbidly obese men and women: influence of subject effort and body mass index.

The authors evaluated the minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production relation (VE/VCO2 slope) as a complementary measure to peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) in 76 patients (mean ± SD age = 44.3±10.8 years, 69.7% female) with morbid obesity (mean ± SD body mass index [BMI] = 49.4±7.0 kg/m2), as it is not limited by effort. Nearly one-half (43%) of the patients achieved a peak respiratory exchange ratio <1.10. Mean peak VO2 and VE/VCO2 slope were 17.0±3.7 mL/kg/min and 27.8±4.0, respectively. Peak VO2 correlated with BMI (r=−0.45, P<.0001), while VE/VCO2 slope did not (r=−0.04, P=.73). There was a linear trend for declining mean peak VO2 (P=.001) but not for VE/VCO2 slope (P=.59) with increasing BMI quintiles. The VE/VCO2 slope is an effort-independent measure that is also independent of BMI and may serve as an adjunctive cardiorespiratory variable when evaluating morbidly obese men and women.