Body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular endurance among medical students

Background: A person’s general well-being is greatly influenced by their cardiovascular health and the main indicator for assessing cardiovascular disease risk is Body Mass Index (BMI). Understanding the relationship between BMI and cardiovascular endurance is becoming increasingly important as obesity and overweight become health problems worldwide, especially among young people. Purpose: To explore the relationship between BMI and cardiovascular endurance among college students. Method: Observational analytical research with a cross-sectional design and involving a purposively selected sample of 60 respondents. This study was conducted at the Physiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health, Universitas Prima Indonesia in March 2024. The BMI variable was calculated based on respondents' height and weight data, while cardiovascular endurance was evaluated using the Harvard step test. Data were analyzed using the univariate and bivariate Spearman's rho correlation test. Results: Shows a very weak relationship between gender variables and cardiovascular endurance (correlation coefficient 0.149 and significance value 0.255 > 0.05). Likewise, the age variable obtained a correlation coefficient of 0.073 with a significance value of 0.581 > 0.05, and the BMI variable with a correlation coefficient of -0.220 and a significance value of 0.091 > 0.05. Conclusion: BMI, gender, and age did not significantly affect cardiovascular fitness among college students. On the other hand, factors beyond BMI, such as physical activity, play a more important role in determining cardiovascular health, so a holistic approach is needed to improve cardiovascular fitness. Suggestion: Students should do regular physical exercise and maintain normal body weight to maintain cardiovascular endurance in achieving physical fitness. Increase cardiovascular endurance, either through consuming healthy and balanced foods or doing regular physical activities such as morning walks, cycling, or heart fitness training. In addition, further researchers can conduct further research on other factors that affect cardiovascular endurance such as fatigue factors and sleep quality.