Journal club roundtable
Discussion: ‘Assessing physical fitness’ by Heimmel et al

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In the roundtable that follows, clinicians discuss a study published in this issue of the Journal in light of its methodology, relevance to practice, and implications for future research. Article discussed:

Heimmel J, Patel S, Cody R, Bachmann G. Evaluation of physical fitness in an ambulatory setting. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2007;196:522.e1-522.e4.

Section snippets

Discussion Questions

  • Is physical fitness in an ambulatory gynecology setting an important topic?

  • What were the study’s objectives and hypothesis?

  • What was the study design?

  • Was the design appropriate to evaluate the hypothesis?

  • Who were the participants in this study?

  • Was an adequate sample of patients included in the study?

  • How were objective fitness levels established for patients?

  • What were the physical measurements taken to assess patient fitness level?

  • What can you say about the range of women involved in this study?

Background

Willers: The 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 65% of adults in the United States were overweight or obese with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25.1 Obesity has been associated with increased morbidity, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and cancers of the colon, breast and uterus. Approximately 300,000 patients die each year from causes related to inactivity and poor diet.2 Weight, BMI, and waist-to-hip

Study Objective and Design

Willers: What were the study’s objectives and hypothesis?

Kovnar: The objective of this project was to perform a brief physical fitness evaluation for ambulatory, gynecologic patients and determine if a woman’s perceived fitness level corresponded to her actual level. The authors hypothesized that a woman’s self-reported fitness might not correlate with her actual fitness and that her level of fitness could be assessed by more objective measures during the ambulatory visit.

Willers: What was the

Conclusions

Willers: What were the major findings of this study?

Rutledge: The study found that the subjects’ perceptions and reports of their exercise fitness did not correlate well with their actual fitness level. Using objective fitness data obtained through the use of well-established fitness screening packets and correlating this with the anthropomorphic measurements previously mentioned, the authors found that percentage of body fat, as calculated with the Lange skin caliper measurements, correlated

References (5)

  • National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults: United States, 1999-2002....
  • National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Physical Activity and Health, a Report of the...
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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