Table 1. Participant Characteristics.
| Characteristic | Aerobic Fitness | Muscular Strength | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (n = 196)a | High (n = 197)a | P Valueb | Low (n = 196)c | High (n = 197)c | P Valueb | |
| Age, y, mean (SD) | 26.8 (6.9) | 25.0 (5.8) | .007 | 25.4 (6.4) | 27.0 (6.4) | .02 |
| V̇O2max, mL/min/kg, mean (SD) | 31.8 (3.8) | 50.7 (4.2) | <.001 | 40.2 (7.6) | 41.7 (7.9) | .05 |
| Muscular strength, kg, mean (SD) | 334 (85) | 347 (94) | .15 | 240 (20) | 460 (69) | <.001 |
| Muscular strength/body mass, kg/kg, mean (SD) | 3.7 (0.8)d | 4.8 (1.2)e | <.001 | 3.3 (0.6)f | 5.4 (1.2)g | <.001 |
| Height, cm, mean (SD) | 179.8 (6.6) | 179.2 (5.8) | .33 | 178.6 (6.0) | 180.5 (6.5) | .003 |
| Body mass, kg, mean (SD) | 92.3 (17.9)d | 73.1 (9.0)e | <.001 | 73.5 (12.7)f | 88.3 (15.1)g | <.001 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.5 (4.9)d | 22.7 (2.3)e | <.001 | 23.0 (3.7)f | 27.1 (4.2)g | <.001 |
| Waist circumference, cm, mean (SD) | 96.8 (12.4) | 80.3 (5.9) | <.001 | 83.0 (10.4) | 90.9 (11.1) | <.001 |
| Lean mass, kg, mean (SD) | 39.0 (5.9)d | 36.6 (4.4)e | <.001 | 34.2 (4.4)f | 41.1 (4.7)g | <.001 |
| Fat mass, kg, mean (SD) | 23.8 (11.6)h | 9.0 (4.2)e | <.001 | 13.1 (8.3)f | 16.6 (10.7)g | <.001 |
| Body fat, %, mean (SD) | 24.8 (8.1)d | 12.4 (5.6)e | <.001 | 16.9 (7.9)f | 17.9 (8.0)g | .23 |
| Obese (BMI ≥30), No./total No. (%) | 71/192 (37.0) | 0/194 | <.001 | 10/194 (5.2) | 36/196 (18.4) | <.001 |
| Waist circumference >102 cm, No./total No. (%) | 67/196 (34.2) | 0/197 | <.001 | 8/196 (4.1) | 31/197 (15.7) | <.001 |
| Education, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| ≤Vocational school | 116/194 (59.8) | 86/196 (43.9) | .002 | 114/194 (58.8) | 95/195 (48.7) | .05 |
| ≥Upper secondary school | 78/194 (40.2) | 110/196 (56.1) | 80/194 (41.2) | 100/195 (51.3) | ||
| Employment status, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| Working | 129/194 (66.5) | 128/196 (65.3) | .008 | 116/194 (59.8) | 152/196 (77.6) | <.001 |
| Student | 44/194 (22.7) | 61/196 (31.1) | 58/194 (29.9) | 40/196 (20.4) | ||
| Unemployed or other | 21/194 (10.8) | 7/196 (3.6) | 20/194 (10.3) | 4/196 (2.0) | ||
| Smoking, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| Never | 79/194 (40.7) | 116/196 (59.2) | <.001 | 97/194 (50.0) | 97/196 (49.5) | <.001 |
| Quit | 46/194 (23.7) | 47/196 (24.0) | 31/194 (16.0) | 61/196 (31.1) | ||
| Regular | 69/194 (35.6) | 33/196 (16.8) | 66/194 (34.0) | 38/196 (19.4) | ||
| Use of alcohol, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| Never | 11/194 (5.7) | 31/196 (15.8) | .29 | 14/194 (7.2) | 14/196 (7.1) | .65 |
| ≤1-2 Times/wk | 143/194 (73.7) | 138/196 (70.4) | 142/194 (73.2) | 150/196 (76.5) | ||
| ≥3 Times/wk | 40/194 (20.6) | 27/196 (13.8) | 38/194 (19.6) | 32/196 (16.3) | ||
| ≥6 Drinks on 1 occasion, ≥1 time/wk | 52/194 (26.8) | 48/196 (24.5) | .64 | 54/194 (27.8) | 44/196 (22.4) | .24 |
| Diet ≥3 d/wk, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| Fresh vegetables | 102/194 (52.6) | 125/196 (63.8) | .03 | 99/194 (51.0) | 138/196 (70.4) | <.001 |
| Cooked vegetables | 41/194 (21.1) | 53/196 (27.0) | .19 | 42/194 (21.6) | 65/196 (33.2) | .01 |
| Fruits or berries | 56/194 (28.9) | 102/196 (52.0) | <.001 | 53/194 (27.3) | 94/196 (48.0) | <.001 |
| Chicken | 47/194 (24.2) | 64/196 (32.7) | .07 | 36/194 (18.6) | 69/196 (35.2) | <.001 |
| Fish | 12/194 (6.2) | 12/196 (5.9) | .10 | 12/194 (6.2) | 13/196 (6.6) | .10 |
| Meat | 137/194 (70.6) | 150/196 (76.5) | .21 | 134/194 (69.1) | 143/196 (73.0) | .44 |
| Processed | 35/194 (18.0) | 44/196 (22.4) | .31 | 40/194 (20.6) | 25/196 (12.8) | .04 |
| Total amount of physical activity/wk, h, mean (SD) | ||||||
| Light aerobic | 4.3 (9.2)g | 6.8 (13.0) | .03 | 4.2 (8.5)g | 5.6 (11.4) | .14 |
| Moderate aerobic | 2.4 (5.4)f | 3.1 (5.6) | .20 | 2.6 (6.1)f | 2.7 (6.1) | .90 |
| Vigorous aerobic | 0.9 (1.9)f | 2.6 (2.8) | <.001 | 1.1 (1.8)f | 1.8 (2.3) | <.001 |
| Strength training | 1.1 (3.0)f | 2.0 (2.6) | .001 | 0.7 (1.5)f | 2.4 (2.9) | <.001 |
| Sum of moderate to vigorous aerobic training | 3.3 (6.2)f | 5.7 (6.5) | <.001 | 3.7 (6.3)f | 4.5 (6.5) | .20 |
| Work-related loading, No./total No. (%) | ||||||
| Sedentary work | 53/192 (27.6) | 41/193 (21.2) | .42 | 52/193 (26.9) | 53/188 (28.2) | .88 |
| Walking and other light activity | 28/192 (14.6) | 35/193 (18.1) | 35/193 (18.1) | 29/188 (15.4) | ||
| Walking and lifting material | 64/192 (33.3) | 63/193 (32.6) | 56/193 (29.0) | 59/188 (31.4) | ||
| Heavy manual work | 47/192 (24.5) | 54/193 (28.0) | 50/193 (25.9) | 47/188 (25.0) | ||
| Blood pressure, mm Hg, mean (SD) | ||||||
| Systolic | 127.2 (11.7) | 121.8 (11.4) | <.001 | 119.9 (10.5) | 126.5 (12.5) | <.001 |
| Diastolic | 78.0 (8.8) | 71.7 (8.3) | <.001 | 73.9 (8.7) | 74.6 (10.3) | .47 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); V̇O2max, maximum oxygen consumption.
a
Ranges: low, 15.5-36.6 mL/min/kg; high, 45.4-67.1 mL/min/kg.
b
P values for the difference between high fitness vs low fitness groups for categorical variables by χ2 tests and for continuous variables by permutation median test.
c
Ranges: low, 115-279 kg; high, 382-738 kg.
d
Data were missing for 4 participants.
e
Data were missing for 3 participants.
f
Data were missing for 2 participants.
g
Data were missing for 1 participant.
h
Data were missing for 5 participants.