Associations between measures of health-related physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors in college students

Objective: To determine the influence of health-related fitness on cardiometabolic risk factors in college students. Participants: 75 traditional students (33 men and 42 women, 21.8 +/- 1.8 years old) at a university in southeastern U.S. Methods: Height, weight, waist circumference, body composition, blood pressure, lipids, glucose, insulin, c-reactive protein, and glucose tolerance were measured. Indices of insulin sensitivity were calculated. Aerobic and muscular fitness were measured. Regression and correlation analyses, and comparisons of cardiometabolic markers in low- vs high-fit participants were performed. Results: Men and women with low muscular fitness exhibited higher fasting insulin, and poorer insulin sensitivity index scores than those with high muscular fitness. In addition, women with high body fat percentage exhibited higher fasting and 2-hour insulin levels and lower insulin sensitivity index scores than those with low body fat percentages. Conclusions: College students possessing low levels of health-related physical fitness exhibited less favorable cardiometabolic risk profiles.