Relationship Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness Blood Pressure of Nigerian

Background: Knowledge about the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and health outcome is important, because such information adds essential information to the aggregated data that serve as the basis for physical activity guidelines. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and blood pressure in normotensive individual. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of secondary school students in Sagamu local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria during 2006 school year was carried out. In all 1638 (790 male and 848 female) apparently healthy students with age ranged between 12 and 18 years were selected from 11 schools (8 public and 3 private). The Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and blood pressure of the subjects were measured. Results: A significant negative correlation between CRF and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) was observed. There was significant curvilinear graded relation between CRF and blood pressure. Coefficient of determination (R2) for cardiorespiratory fitness was 1.54% and 1.18% for systolic and diastolic blood pressure respectively. Conclusion: The greatest benefit may be achieved when increasing the fitness from low to moderate cardiorespiratory fitness. It is therefore important to direct action towards those adolescents who are the least physically fit to increase their cardiorespiratory fitness and hence reduced their blood pressure. Key words: Cardiorespiratory fitness index, blood pressure, CHD