Quadriceps Muscle Strength and Body Mass Index Are Associated With Estimates of Physical Activity Postheart Transplantation

Associations between body mass index and physical fitness indicators among Chinese university students: a multicenter cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Increasing body mass index (BMI) has many negative effects on the physical and mental health of university students and has become a common public health problem in all countries. However, there are few studies on the association between BMI and physical fitness indicators among Chinese university students in developing countries, and the findings are inconsistent. The present study aims to analyze the association between BMI and physical fitness indicators among Chinese university students, to assist in university students' health development and intervention.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional assessment of BMI of 29,371 university students and a cross-sectional assessment of physical fitness indicators of vital capacity, sit and reach, pull-up(boys), sit-up(girls), standing long jump, 50 m dash, 1000 m run(boys ), 800 m run(girls). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation analysis, and nonlinear regression modeling were used to analyze the associations that existed between BMI and various physical fitness indicators.

RESULTS

The percentages of Chinese university students in emaciated, normal, overweight, and obese were 17.8%, 65.3%, 14.9%, and 2.0%, respectively. Comparing between different BMI groups (emaciated, normal, overweight, and obesity), for boys, the effect values ranged from 1.0 to 2.0% for the items of vital capacity, sit and reach, pull-up/situp, standing long jump, 50 m dash, and 1000/800 m-run. For run events, the range of effect sizes ranged from 0.2 to 0.9; the range of effect sizes for girls also ranged from 0.2 to 0.9.

CONCLUSIONS

The physical fitness level of emaciated and obese Chinese university students is generally lower than that of normal-weight students, and the relationship between BMI and physical fitness indicators shows a "U-shape" or "inverted U-shape" curve. The effect of BMI on physical fitness is more significant in boys than in university girls. In the future, targeted physical exercise and health education should be provided to emaciated and obese university students to maintain a reasonable body weight and promote the healthy development of physical fitness.

Exercise after Heart Transplantation: Typical Alterations, Diagnostics and Interventions

For the treatment of terminal heart failure, heart transplantation is considered to be the gold standard, leading to significantly improved quality of life and long-time survival. For heart transplant recipients, the development and maintenance of good functional performance and adequate exercise capacity is crucial for renewed participation and integration in self-determined live. In this respect, typical transplant-related alterations must be noted that play a significant role, leading to restrictions both centrally and peripherally. Before patients begin intensive and structured exercise training, a comprehensive diagnosis of their exercise capacity should take place in order to stratify the risks involved and to plan the training units accordingly. Particularly endurance sports and resistance exercises are recommended to counter the effects of the underlying disease and the immunosuppressive medication. The performance level achieved can vary considerably depending on their individual condition, from gentle activity through a non-competitive-level to intensive competitive sports. This paper includes an overview of the current literature on heart transplant recipients, their specific characteristics, as well as typical cardiovascular and musculoskeletal alterations. It also discusses suitable tools for measuring exercise capacity, recommendations for exercise training, required precautions and the performance level usually achieved.