title: Agreement of self-reported and physiologically estimated fitness status in a symptom-free population.
abstract: A population of 204 symptom-free clerical and white-collar employees who volunteered for a corporate-based health promotion program was studied to determine agreement between self-reported and physiologically determined fitness status. Physiologic fitness was estimated using exercise treadmill performance. There were statistically significant differences between self-reported and treadmill-estimated fitness status. The study population rated their fitness substantially higher than that estimated by treadmill performance. Self-reported fitness was found to be poorly correlated with physiologic fitness, indicating independent distributions. These relationships persisted across gender. The results question the use of self-reported estimates of physical health in health services research.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010809:Physical Fitness