Introduction:

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an excellent health status indicator, since reduced CRF values may constitute an early marker of alterations in the cardiovascular system.

Objective:

To determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and CRF in teachers working in State schools of Barranquilla, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted from October 2015 to May 2016 in 363 teachers working in State schools of Barranquilla. Participants' sociodemographic data were collected, their BMI was calculated and their CRF was measured using the Rockport walking test (also known as 1-mile walking test).

Results:

Participants' mean age was 48.1±9.4 years, 72.1% were women, and 65.55% had a BMI >25 kg/m2. On the other hand, CRF mean was 26.4 mL/kg/min and was inversely correlated with BMI (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

Bearing in mind the high prevalence of overweight and obesity and the low levels of CRF found in the present study it is necessary to implement health prevention programs based on physical activity and nutritional counseling aimed at encouraging public school teachers to adopt healthy lifestyles.

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