Cardiorespiratory Fitness Evaluation Protocol

Anthropometric measurements included height, weight (kg), body mass index (weight (kg)/(height squared (m²)), fat percentage (BC-418 MA body composition analyzer; Tanita, Tokyo, Japan) and resting blood pressure (Omron M3 or Omron M6 Comfort; Omron Corporation, Kyoto, Japan). Cardiorespiratory fitness level was assessed using the Ekblom-Bak submaximal cycle ergometer test (Monark AB, Varberg, Sweden) [21 (link)], in which the maximal oxygen uptake is estimated based on the difference in heart rate between an initial low standard workload and a subsequent higher ‘final’ workload [22 (link)]. During the cycle test, heart rate was monitored using an arm-worn Polar^® OH1 heart rate monitor (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland).