V(O-2) MAX AND NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN URBAN COLOMBIAN GIRLS AND WOMEN

Maximal oxygen consumption (V(O2) max, liters min-1) was measured in 6 0 nutritionally normal and 74 marginally undernourished girls 6-16 yea rs of age and 27 upper socioeconomic (UEC) women and 22 women living i n economically deprived conditions (LEC) in Cali, Colombia. All girls were recruited from the LEC neighborhoods. Lower values for V(O2) max (liters min-1) in under-nourished girls were replaced by a nutritional ly normal status in adulthood in which V(O2) max was not significantly different from that measured in UEC women. Physical condition varied from average to fair in the younger to older subjects compared to wome n from industrialized countries. When V(O2) max is expressed as ml min -1 kg-1 of lean body mass (LBM), all age and group effects disappear, confirming regression analysis which demonstrated a close relationship (r2 = 0.81) between V(O2) max (liters min-1) and LBM in which there w ere no significant differences between nutritional or socioeconomic gr oups. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.