Association of muscular strength with incidence of metabolic syndrome in men.

Purpose: To examine the association between muscular strength and incidence of metabolic syndrome.

Methods: Participants were 3233 men (20-80 yr) initially free of metabolic syndrome who had two or more clinical examinations between 1980 and 2003, including baseline muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to NCEP-ATP III criteria.

Assessing cardiorespiratory fitness without performing exercise testing.

Background: Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases and mortality; however, CRF assessment is usually not performed in many healthcare settings. The purpose of this study is to extend previous work on a non-exercise test model to predict CRF from health indicators that are easily obtained.

Methods: Participants were men and women aged 20 to 70 years whose CRF level was quantified with a maximal or submaximal exercise test as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Johnson Space Center (NASA, n = 1863), Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS, n = 46,190), or Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey (ADNFS, n = 1706).

Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with the incidence of metabolic syndrome: a prospective study of men and women.

Background: Few studies have reported the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and metabolic syndrome incidence, particularly in women.

Methods And Results: We prospectively studied 9007 men (mean+/-SD age, 44+/-9 years; body mass index, 25+/-3 kg/m2) and 1491 women (age, 44+/-9 years; body mass index, 22+/-2 kg/m2) who were free of metabolic syndrome and for whom measures of waist girth, resting blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose were taken during baseline and follow-up examinations. Baseline cardiorespiratory fitness was quantified as duration of a maximal treadmill test.

Associations of muscle strength and fitness with metabolic syndrome in men.

Purpose: To examine the associations for muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among men.

Methods: Participants were 8570 men (20-75 yr) for whom an age-specific muscular strength score was computed by combining the body weight adjusted one-repetition maximum measures for the leg press and the bench press. Cardiorespiratory fitness was quantified by age-specific maximal treadmill exercise test time.

Eight weeks of moderate-intensity exercise training increases heart rate variability in sedentary postmenopausal women.

Background: Regular exercise is associated with increased heart rate variability (HRV). However, results from studies examining the effect of exercise training on HRV in postmenopausal women are inconclusive. In addition, the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on HRV remains a subject of speculation.

Effects of a commercial herbal-based formula on exercise performance in cyclists.

Introduction/purpose: We examined the effects of a commercially marketed herbal-based formula purported to increase endurance on oxygen consumption (VO2) in 17 competitive category III/IV amateur cyclists [mean (SEM) age: 31.1 (1.8) yr; height: 178.

Dose Response to Exercise in Women aged 45-75 yr (DREW): design and rationale.

Introduction And Purpose: Physical inactivity in postmenopausal women contributes to a rise in atherogenic risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome. Although regular physical activity positively contributes to health, inactivity progressively increases with age. The Dose Response to Exercise in Women aged 45-75 yr (DREW) study is designed to investigate the effect of different amounts of exercise training on cardiorespiratory fitness and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women at moderately increased risk of CVD.