Health profile of individuals participating in a public exercise program

Objective. - Analyze and describe cardiorespiratory fitness (VO(2)max), physiological indicators of health and quality of life of physically inactive individuals and regular exercise practitioners of a public health program. Methods. -The study included individuals of both genders aged >= 40 years, categorized into two groups: participants and non-participants of a public exercise program. Questionnaires on socio-demographic issues, international physical activity (IPAQ-long version), 24-hour dietary recall and WHOQOL-8 for quality of life were applied. Anthropometric parameters, cardiores-piratory fitness (VO(2)max), blood pressure at rest and biochemical variables were measured. An unpaired t-test was applied to compare means or medians when appropriate, chi-square test and Pearson's correlation. The effect size was calculated. Results. - Participants did not show higher VO(2)max when compared to the non-participants, but showed a lower BMI (15.1%), a higher QOL (17.9%), and lower low-density lipoprotein -LDL (14.6%) and lower SBP (-4.1%) and DBP (-5.3%). Attendance time in the program was inversely related to systolic (r = -0.43; P = 0.03) and diastolic (r = -0.52; P = 0.01) blood pressure and to the use of medications (r = -0.59; P= 0.03), but not with VO(2)max (r = 0.38; P= 0.07). Conclusion. - Participants presented a cardiorespiratory fitness profile similar to the non-participants, but they had a better quality of life. Prolonged exposure to these public exercise programs can improve cardiovascular health and reduce medication use. However, this should be further investigated in longitudinal studies. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.