Health-related physical fitness in middle-aged men with and without metabolic syndrome

Aim. Objective of the study was to compare health-related physical fitness (HRPF) between men with and without metabolic syndrome (MS) and to evaluate the risk of being unfit associated with MS. Methods. The study included 79 middle-aged civil servant men (46.2 +/- 8.4 years) who underwent a physical annual evaluation to access HRPF as follows: BMI; cardiorespiratory fitness by Ebbeling test (VO(2)max), flexibility by sit-and-reach test (SRT), muscular strength by handgrip test (HDT) and vertical jump test (VJT) and muscular endurance by push-up test (PUT). MS was defined by the ATP (2009) criteria. Comparisons were performed with the Matm-Whitney test and univariate General Linear Model was used for age-adjusted analysis. Odds ratio (OR-95 % CI) was calculated to evaluate the odds of the MS group to be unfit and the odds of having MS according to the HRPF levels. Results. Nineteen volunteers (24.1%) with MS were identified. After age adjustment, VO(2)max and BMI were significantly different in the MS group than in the non-MS group: 39.7 vs. 44.8 mg.kg(-1).min(-1) and 29.4 vs. 25.7 kg/m(2) (P<0.05) and PUT tended to be lower in men with MS (16 vs. 21 repetition; P=0.06). Blood pressure >= 130/85 mmHg was the most prevalent MS criterion, associated with lower VO2max (40.3 vs. 45.6 mL.kg(-1).min(-1)) and SRT (22.2 vs. 28 cm), and higher BMI (28.9 vs. 25.3 kg/m(2)) (P<0.05). The OR of being unfit for VO2max and BMI in the MS group were 6.5 (1.9-22.6) and 5.7 (1.2-26m.8). The odds of having MS increased by 23% (3-45%) for each BMI unit increase, irrespectively to age. Conclusion. MS group showed lower VO2max, PUT, higher BMI and a greater risk of being unfit compared to the non-MS one. The proportion of MS was 3.4-fold higher within those with lower VO(2)max. Small reductions on BMI may produce significant decrease on MS prevalence.