Associations between overweight/obesity and physical fitness variables in Korean women.

AIM The purpose of this study was to investigate whether physical fitness variables are related to overweight or obesity in Korean women. METHODS From 2007 to 2011, 10,790 women aged 20-82 years visited a public health centre for evaluation of cardiovascular function, health-related physical fitness, and motor-related physical fitness. We used the definitions of overweight and obesity provided in the World Health Organization's Asia-Pacific Standard Report. Cardiovascular function was evaluated using the Resting Heart Rate (RHR) and vital capacity. Health-related physical fitness was evaluated using the VO2max measure, sit-up number, grip strength, and sit-and-reach distance. Motor-related physical fitness was evaluated using the vertical-jump distance, side-step number, and balance (standing on 1 foot with eyes open) measure. RESULTS The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 26.9% and 28.8%, respectively. Results are presented as odds ratios (with 95% confidence intervals) after adjusting for age and number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, cigarettes smoked per day, and exercise sessions per week. When RHR increased by 1 beat per minute, overweight prevalence was 1.012 times higher (1.007-1.017, p < 0.001) and obesity prevalence was 1.006 times higher (1.000-1.011, p = 0.037). When VO2max increased by 1 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1), overweight was 0.949 times less prevalent (0.939-0.959, p < 0.001), and obesity was 0.916 times less prevalent (0.906-0.926, p < 0.001). As grip strength increased, overweight prevalence and obesity prevalence increased. An increase in vertical-jump distance by 1 cm was accompanied by a decrease in overweight prevalence by a factor of 0.975 (0.967-0.982, p < 0.001) and a decrease in obesity prevalence by a factor of 0.940 (0.932-0.948, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Overweight and obesity were associated with poor physical fitness as assessed by variables related to cardiovascular function and health-related and motor-related physical fitness.