SAFETY AND FEASIBILITY OF A HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS TEST BATTERY FOR ADULTS

Background and Purpose. Health-related fitness (HRFI) assessment may b e useful in promoting physical activity. Health-related fitness refers to those components of fitness that are related to health status. The safety and feasibility of a test batten designed for the assessment o f HRFI were evaluated. Subjects and Methods. Middle-aged men (n=246) a nd women (n=254), evenly selected from five age cohorts of a random sa mple (N=826), were tested. The subjects had a mean age of 47.0 years ( SD=7.9, range=37-57). Screening to identify subjects with health limit ations was conducted by fitness testers who had master's degrees in sp ort or health sciences. Safety was assessed in terms of acute complica tions, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and heart rate after each test. Subject exclusion and time costs were evaluated for feasibility . Results. No acute complications occurred. The leg function test caus ed severe DOMS among inactive women. The overall exclusion rate increa sed with age. Up to 27% of subjects aged 52 and 57 years were excluded from muscle endurance tests, mainly due to self-reported heart diseas e or elevated blood pressures. Over 90% of the subjects, however, qual ified for balance, flexibility, muscle force. and walk tests. Conclusi on and Discussion. The test battery offers a safe and feasible method for the assessment of HRFI in working-aged adults, with the limitation that the one-leg squat function test may cause DOMS, particularly in inactive women.