Date of Award

1999

Degree Name

Exercise Science

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Terry Shepherd

Second Advisor

Leonard J. Deutsch

Abstract

Positive health entails more than the absence of disease; it is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being (Hartung, Krock, Crandall, Bisson, & Myhre, 1993; Payne & Hahn, 1995). Physical fitness, as described by Francis (1987), is the potential for making adequate functional adjustments to increased metabolic demands. Cardiorespiratory fitness (aerobic fitness) is believed to be the single best indicator of physical fitness (Astrand & Rodale, 1985). The standard index of cardiorespiratory fitness is maximum oxygen uptake (VO^^), or the maximum rate at which oxygen can be consumed. VO2max is dependent upon the cardiovascular system’s ability to deliver blood to working muscles and the cellular ability to take up and utilize this oxygen in energy production (Hartung et al., 1993; Siconolfi, Cullinane, Carleton, & Thompson, 1982). As a growing body of scientific research links cardiorespiratory fitness to health and well-being, a growing number of studies have investigated cardiorespiratory fitness in large and varying populations (Anderson, 1992).

Subject(s)

Physical fitness – Testing.

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