Study on the Relationship between Lifestyles and Maximal Oxygen Uptake in Healthy Adults

In this study, to determine the influence of different lifestyles on maximal oxygen uptake, we carried out a survey on the effects of age, smoking, physical exercise, clinical examination values and dietary habits of 899 male factory workers on their maximal oxygen uptake. The results of the study were as follows： Maximal oxygen uptake significantly decreased with age. In the male factory workers, there were significant correlations between maximal oxygen uptake and frequency of physical exercise, a greasy diet and seasoning of the diet. Multiple regression analysis showed that the variables which correlated best with the maximal oxygen uptake were serum total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. These results indicated that good nutrition and physical activity are important for maintaining physical fitness. Jpn J Hyg 1997;52：470-4.