Resumen de V[spacing dot above]O2max in Overweight and Obese Adults: Do They Meet the Threshold Criteria?

Rachel E. Wood, Andrew P. Hills, Gary R. Hunter, Neil A. King, Nuala M. Byrne

• Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether adiposity affects the attainment of V[spacing dot above]O2max.

  Methods: Sixty-seven male and 68 female overweight (body mass index (BMI) = 25-29.9 kg[middle dot]m-2) and obese (BMI >= 30 kg[middle dot]m-2) participants undertook a graded treadmill test to volitional exhaustion (phase 1) followed by a verification test (phase 2) to determine the proportion who could achieve a plateau in V[spacing dot above]O2 and other "maximal" markers (RER, lactate, HR, RPE).

  Results: At the end of phase 1, 46% of the participants reached a plateau in V[spacing dot above]O2, 83% increased HR to within 11 beats of age-predicted maximum, 89% reached an RER of >=1.15, 70% reached a blood lactate concentration of >=8 mmol[middle dot]L-1, and 74% reached an RPE of >=18. No significant differences between genders and between BMI groups were found with the exception of blood lactate concentration (males = 84% vs females = 56%, P < 0.05). Neither gender nor fatness predicted the number of other markers attained, and attainment of other markers did not differentiate whether a V[spacing dot above]O2 plateau was achieved. The verification test (phase 2) revealed that an additional 52 individuals (39%) who did not exhibit a plateau in V[spacing dot above]O2 in phase 1 had no further increase in V[spacing dot above]O2 in phase 2 despite an increase in workload.

  Conclusions: These findings indicate that the absence of a plateau in V[spacing dot above]O2 alone is not indicative of a failure to reach a true maximal V[spacing dot above]O2 and that individuals with excessive body fat are no less likely than "normal-weight" individuals to exhibit a plateau in V[spacing dot above]O2 provided that the protocol is appropriate and encouragement to exercise to maximal exertion is provided