Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics of Men and Women, Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, 1970–1995.

Characteristic	Men (n=11,258)	Women (n=3,085)
Age (years)	45.0±9.5	44.6±10.3
Maximal METs	12.0±2.6	9.6±2.2
Treadmill time (minutes)	18.5±5.1	13.5±4.7
Low fitness (%)	12.9	11.8
Moderate fitness (%)	37.2	36.7
High fitness (%)	49.9	51.6
Body Mass Index (kg/m2)	25.7±3.3	22.5±3.3
Lipids (mmol/L)
Total cholesterol	5.5±1.0	5.3±1.2
HDL-C	1.2±0.3	1.6±0.5
Triglycerides	1.4±1.0	1.0±1.1
Fasting blood glucose (mmol/L)	5.6±0.9	5.2±0.7
Blood pressure (mmHg)
Systolic	122±14	113±14
Diastolic	81±9	75±9
Stressful occupation* (%)	36.8	17.9
Current smoker (%)	13.4	8.8
Alcohol intake (≥5 drinks/week) † (%)	41.7	25.1
Hypertension‡ (%)	24.1	12.3
Diabetes§ (%)	4.1	1.9
Abnormal exercise ECG (%)	5.5	4.7

Data shown as Means ± SD unless specified otherwise.

METs= maximal metabolic equivalents achieved during the treadmill test; HDL- C= high density lipoprotein cholesterol; ECG=electrocardiogram.

^*Defined as yes or no based on a standardized questionnaire

^†One unit of alcohol is defined as 12 ounces (3.41 dL) of beer, 5 ounces (1.421 dL) of wine, or 1.5 ounces (0.4262 dL) of hard liquor.

^‡Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, or a history of physician diagnosis.

^§Diabetes mellitus is defined as a fasting plasma glucose concentration ≥7.0 mmol/L (126 mg/dL), a history of physician diagnosis, or insulin use.