Effects of Abdominal Obesity and Health Related Physical Fitness in Arterial Stiffness of Korean Males / 대한스포츠의학회지

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between waist circumference, muscular strength, flexibility, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Furthermore, the cut-off values of the physical fitness factors according to the baPWV were also calculated. The study was derived with total of 1,562 males (1,116 middle-aged and 446 old-aged). They were tested participant's baPWV, waist circumference, cardiopulmonary fitness, grip strength and flexibility. The results of this study is that the baPWV of the middle-aged men did not show significant changes in relationship with the waist circumference and physical fitness factors. The old-aged group with normal abdominal fat and high physical fitness level (group 4) showed significant baPWV values in comparison to those with waist circumference and low physical fitness levels (group 1); cardiorespiratory fitness p=0.026, grip strength p=0.000, flexibility p=0.000. The cut-off values of the physical fitness such as cardiorespiratory fitness, grip strength, flexibility according to the baPWV were 31.2 mL/kg/min (area under curve [AUC], 0.692; p=0.027), 37.0 kg (AUC, 0.588; p=0.014), and 1.0 cm (AUC, 0.589; p=0.014), respectively. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that waist circumference, cardiorespiratory fitness as well as muscular strength and flexibility effect inversely on arterial stiffness.