Cardio-respiratory Fitness in Youth

The American Heart Association (AHA) published an additional Scientific Statement in August 2020 (Circulation 2020;142:e101-e180): “Cardio-respiratory Fitness (CRF) in Youth – An Important Marker of Health”

This Statement offered the following Conclusions and Recommendations:

      • “Healthy Cardio-respiratory Fitness (CRF) is positively associated with cardiovascular health, academic achievement and mental well-being in youth.”
      • “Accurately and reliably measured CRF….may be missed by subjective physical activity recall, anthropometric measures or CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk factor testing, which are current standards of care.”
      • “Every child will benefit from a CRF estimate as part of a yearly physical.”

The following link provides additional findings and conclusions within this AHA Scientific Statement which further substantiate the importance of also assessing Cardio-respiratory Fitness (CRF) for children and young adults in the medical office setting:

AHA-Cardiorespiratory-Fitness in Youth-081820