The independent and joint associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and adiposity with cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome in United States college students

Abstract

Objective To examine the association of CRF and adiposity with cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome among emerging adults. Participants: 5681 (60.1% Men; 21 ± 1years) college students from a large university located in the northeast of the United States. Methods: Participants completed an objective health assessment that involved the assessment cardiometabolic risk factors, CRF, and adiposity. Data of 5681 students’ (60.1% Men; 21 ± 1years) who had CRF, adiposity, all risk factors necessary to determine metabolic syndrome evaluated were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results: Poor CRF and elevated adiposity were associated with cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome regardless of sex, with the association between adiposity and risk factors found to be stronger compared to CRF. Conclusions: Targeted and tailored screening and interventions are urgently needed to reduce adiposity and increase CRF to avoid serious short and long-term negative health outcomes in this population.

Keywords:

• Emerging adults
• exercise
• hypertension
• metabolic syndrome
• obesity
• young adults

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the students who allowed the use of their data, as well as staff at the Center for Fitness and Wellness who assisted with data collection.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Pennsylvania State University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.