Comparative Study Of Physical Fitness Index And Predicted VO2max among Rural And Urban Female Students

Background: Physical fitness index (PFI) measures fitness for muscular work and ability to recover from work. It assess cardiopulmonary efficiency. Vo2 max refers to maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense exercise and is best indicator of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. PFI and Vo2 max are dependent on height, weight, BMI. Differences in anthropometry among urban and rural subjects due to different environmental, social, nutritional and life style habits can affect PFI and Vo2 max. Thus present study is intended to compare PFI and predicted Vo2 max among rural and urban female students . Materials and Methods: 50 participants of age group 18-20 years, 25 sedentary female subjects from each of rural and urban sectors of 1 st year MBBS were taken by random sampling. PFI was determined by modified Harvard step test and Vo2 max was determined by Indirect Queens college step test. Mean PFI was higher in rural group compared to urban group (p= 0.48). Mean Vo2 max was similar in both the groups (p=0.99). PFI was positively correlated with Vo2 max in both the groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rural female students do not have a statistically significant higher value of PFI and Vo2 max than urban female students.