Abstract des Autors

Prospective studies assessing physical activity support the hypothesis that regular exercise can decrease the risk of ischemic heart disease. One reason for the lack of strong consensus may be the difficulty in assessing physical activity. In epidemiological studies, questionnaires appear to be the most common method to assess physical activities. Of particular interest is the Baecke questionnaire allowing the calculation of indices for work and sport. In this study, the Baecke questionnaire was tested on 118 French males aged 30-58 years. Under our experimental conditions, only sport and leisure-time index were calculated. The results show that indices both for sport (IAS) and leisure time (IAL) were positively related to VO2max; r=0.526 and r=0.436 respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed a positive relationship between VO2max and the sport and leisure-time index (square R=0.38). Moreover, a more complete multiple regression procedure was performed in order to predict VO2max. The fitting model was of the form VO2max=36.09+2.44(IAS)+3.37(IAL)-0.19(age)-0.31(body fat)+0.15(muscular endurance) (square R=0.53). In summary, this study showed for the first time a statistically significant relationship between sport and leisure-time index, and VO2max. However, although a significant linear model was fitted relating VO2max to several independent factors, prediction of VO2max apart from large epidemiological studies was unsatisfactory. This does not, however, reject the usefulness of the Baecke questionnaire. Verf.-Referat