title: [Cardiorespiratory fitness among adults in Germany: results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1)].
abstract: A high level of fitness is an indicator for a good health state. Therefore, cardiorespiratory fitness was examined in the cross-sectional German Health Interview Survey for Adults (DEGS1). Data from 3030 test-qualified adults between 18 and 64 years old were assessed by means of a standardized submaximal cycle ergometer test. Test-qualified participants were significantly younger, more often men, less often obese and showed a better health state than those who were not test-qualified. The calculated physical work capacity at 75 % of the age-predicted maximum heart rate (PWC75%) in watts per kg bodyweight was among men 1.52 and among women 1.15. PWC75% declines by 4.2 % per age decade for men and 4.8 % for women. A higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with better fitness among women. No significant association was observed between SES and fitness among men. These findings can be used to develop target-group specific health-promotion interventions in order to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness. It is planned to calculate updated PWC reference values based on the DEGS1 data. An English full-text version of this article is available at SpringerLink as supplemental.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Epidemiologie und Gesundheitsmonitoring, Robert Koch-Institut, General-Pape-Str. 62-66, 12101 Berlin, Deutschland. FingerJ@rki.de
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Finger
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gößwald
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Härtel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bös
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult