A 2-minute Fitness Test for Lifestyle Applications: The PhysioFit Task and Its Analysis based on Heart Rate

Abstract

Cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF) denotes the health of cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal systems, thus being important to evaluate effects of (un)healthy lifestyles. Non-exhaustive submaximal fitness tests enable simple, fast, and inexpensive CRF assessment, in situations with low accuracy requirements. An example is the Ruffier-Dickson task (RD), consisting of 30 squats executed within 45 seconds, it estimates a CRF score from heart rate (HR) during the task. Squats, however, are not straightforward for subjects with poor fitness. To overcome this limitation, we developed the PhysioFit task (PF). It entails two minutes of stationary pedaling and employs HR for CRF estimation. PF outcomes were analyzed using RD as benchmark, according to HR changes during the task; CRF scores estimated with methods based on HR; correlation of CRF scores to body composition. The analysis relied on data from 28 subjects who executed both tasks. Although, HR variations during PF were lower relative to RD, PF produced significant changes in HR during pedaling and allowed for significant recovery after one minute. Significant agreement was found between tasks for two CRF scores, and both presented strong negative and positive correlations with fat and muscle percentage, respectively. Preliminary results show that PF is promising towards fast fitness assessments.