Effect of Body Height on Aerobic Capacity of Young Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) is a vital component of overall fitness and a direct predictor of the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Body height, as a part of body composition, can affect the body’s overall physiology. However, limited literature has documented the relationship between body height and maximal oxygen consumption. Aim: To determine the effect of body height on the aerobic capacity of young adults using the multistage 20 m shuttle run test. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Cardio-Respiratory Physiotherapy, College of Physiotherapy, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India, from July 2020 to May 2021. A total of 106 participants were included in the study and categorised into short, medium and tall-height groups. They performed the Multistage 20 m Shuttle Run test, which involved a pre-recorded audio signal. Participants were motivated to pace themselves with the audio signals until their exhaustion level. VO2 max was calculated using the equation that incorporates maximal aerobic speed. Chi-square tests and independent sample t-tests were performed to find the associations between different categorical variables. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc analyses were applied to determine intergroup significance among the three groups. The level of significance (p-value) was set at <0.05. Results: There was no significant difference in maximal oxygen consumption among the three groups (p-value=0.930). However, a statistically significant difference was found in VO2 max between males and females (p-value=0.003). Conclusion: The present study concludes that height does not affect maximal oxygen consumption in healthy young adults. Other factors, such as body composition, genetics, level of training and anatomical, physiological and biomechanical differences, contribute significantly to the levels of maximal oxygen consumption in adults. The commercials and unresearched data claiming that body height is an essential aspect of a healthy life can be rejected and/or questioned based on this study