Table 1.
Sex distribution, age, anthropometric, and ventilatory data of the study groups.
| Parameters | Active Older (n = 24) |
Inactive Older (n = 20) |
Active Young (n = 39) |
Inactive Young (n = 24) |
p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (M/F, n) | 10/14 | 12/9 | 22/17 | 10/14 | N.S. |
| Age (years) | 65 (60:80) a,b | 67 (60:79) c,d | 29 (20:34) | 26 (20:35) | <0.0001 |
| Weight (kg) | 64.2 ± 11.3 | 72.2 ± 10.1 | 70.3 ± 12.1 | 67.4 ± 15.1 | N.S. |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.7 ± 2.7 e | 28.1 ± 4.8 c,d | 24.2 ± 2.4 | 23.5 ± 3.5 | <0.0001 |
| WC (cm) | 87 (68:113) | 96 (73:110) c,f | 82 (62:95) | 80 (64:111) | <0.0001 |
| WHR (cm) | 0.9 (0.8:1.0) a | 0.9 (0.8:1.1) c,f | 0.8 (0.7:1.0) | 0.9 (0.7:1.0) | <0.0001 |
| VO2 | |||||
| Absolute (L/min) | 2.0 (1.3:3.2) a | 1.8 (1.2:2.7) c | 3.5 (2.1:4.4) g | 2.3 (1.4:3.8) | <0.0001 |
| VT (mL/kg/min) | 22.6 ± 3.0 a,h | 18.4 ± 3.7 c,i | 32.1 ± 6.6 j | 23.0 ± 4.7 | <0.0001 |
| Peak (mL/kg/min) | 32.6 ± 5.2 a,h,k | 27.3 ± 5.9 c,d | 46.4 ± 4.9 j | 37.5 ± 7.6 | <0.0001 |
| Predicted for age (%) | 119 (86:154) b,h | 102 (75:130) i | 109 (91:129) j | 88 (66:170) | <0.0001 |
| Slope (VE/VO2) | 31 (24:38) | 31 (23:41) | 29 (23:37) | 32 (22:37) | N.S. |
| MET | 9.3 ± 1.5 a,h | 7.8 ± 1.7 c,d | 13.4 ± 1.6 j | 10.5 ± 1.7 | <0.0001 |
| OUES (mL) | 2339 ± 598 a | 2117 ± 405 c | 3561 ± 837 j | 2602 ± 763 | <0.0001 |
Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median (minimum:maximum). Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; WC: waist circumference; WHR: waist–hip ratio; VO2: oxygen consumption; VT: ventilatory threshold; MET: metabolic equivalent; OUES: oxygen uptake efficiency slope. a—active older vs. active young: p < 0.001; b—active older vs. inactive young: p < 0.001; c—inactive older vs. active young: p < 0.001; d—inactive older vs. inactive young: p < 0.001; e—active older vs. inactive older: p < 0.01; f—inactive older vs. inactive young: p < 0.01; g—active young vs. inactive young: p < 0.01; h—active older vs. inactive older: p < 0.05; i—inactive older vs. inactive young: p < 0.05; j—active young vs. inactive young: p < 0.001; k—active older vs. inactive young: p < 0.05. N.S.: not significant.