title: Fitness, fatness and cardiovascular profile in South Spanish and North Moroccan women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We studied the differences on physical fitness, fatness and cardiovascular profile in Spanish and Moroccan women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised 63 and 58 women aged 45-65 years from South of Spain and North of Morocco, respectively. We assessed fitness and body composition using standard procedures. We also assessed resting heart rate (RHR), blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moroccan women had a better performance in the main health-related physical fitness components, i.e. higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (P = 0.01) and (lower-body) muscular strength (P < 0.001). Diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.004), RHR and total cholesterol (both P = 0.04) were lower in Moroccan women. No differences were observed in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The women from Morocco had a healthier fitness and cardiovascular profile than the women from Spain. Further research on physical fitness and other health indicators in understudied populations is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. virginiaparicio@ugr.es
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carbonell-Baeza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Senhaji
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Errami
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delgado-Fernández
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aranda
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D015519:Bone Density; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco / Q000453:epidemiology; D053580:Muscle Strength; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014930:Women
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol