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Background: Most classification tables of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) used in clinical practice are international and have not been validated for the Brazilian population. That can result in important discrepancies when that classification is extrapolated to our population., Objective: To assess the use of major CRF tables available in a Brazilian population sample of the Central High Plan of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS)., Methods: This study assessed the retrospective data of 2,930 individuals, living in 36 cities of the Central High Plan of the state of RS, and considered the following: presence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and estimated maximum oxygen consumption (VO2peak) values obtained through exercise test with Bruce protocol. To classify CRF, the individuals were distributed according to sex, inserted in their respective age groups in the Cooper, American Heart Association (AHA) and Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp) tables, and classified according to their VO2peak., Results: Women had lower VO2peak values as compared with those of men (23.5 ± 8.5 vs. 31.7 ± 10.8 mL.kg-1.min-1, p < 0.001). Considering both sexes, VO2peak showed an inverse and moderate correlation with age (R = -0.48, p < 0.001). An important discrepancy in the CRF classification levels was observed between the tables, ranging from 49% (Cooper x AHA) to 75% (Unifesp x AHA)., Conclusion: Our findings indicate important discrepancy in the CRF classification levels of the tables assessed. Future studies could assess whether international tables could be used for the Brazilian population and populations of different regions of Brazil.

Background: Some normotensive sedentary individuals have an exaggerated increase in blood pressure (BP) during physical activity, which is a behavior that is called blood pressure hyper-reactivity., Objective: To investigate the effect of an aerobic exercise program (AEP) on blood pressure in individuals with blood pressure hyper-reactivity (BPH)., Methods: Ten male volunteers with BPH, aged 45 ± 10 years, referred to as the experimental group (EG), took part in an AEP on a treadmill, 3 times a week for two months. They were compared to 14 men with BPH, aged 48 ± 8 years, referred to as the control group (CG), who remained sedentary. The subjects were evaluated before and after the AEP by stress test for comparison purposes. We evaluated the initial, peak and test-end heart rates (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)., Results: There a significant decrease in the initial SBP (-5%; p=0.01), initial DBP (-4.6%; p=0.01), peak SBP (-12.4%; p=0.001), peak DBP (-14.7%; p=0.03), final SBP (-4.6%, p=0.03) in the EG. The CG continued with its hyper-reactive behavior, which evolved to more exaggerated levels when the results before and after the study were compared (p<0.04). In the HR, there was an increase only in the final HR, of 11.3 bpm, after training (p=0.02). The test-peak VO2 increased by 4.4 ml.kg(-1) x min(-1) in the EG (p=0.01) and remained similar in the CG., Conclusion: The AEP normalized the behavior of the blood pressure hyper-reactivity in sedentary men.

Background: Hypertension (H) is associated with a large number of co-morbidities, including obesity. The correlation between two variables has been investigated., Objective: To analyze the correlation between the loss of body mass and blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients undergoing exercising programs (EP)., Methods: One hundred eleven hypertensive patients with overweight or obesity were randomly divided into an experimental group (EG). Out of these, 57 (58 +/- 8.9 years old) participated in a three-month EP conducted three times a week in aerobic exercise sessions from 50% to 70% of VO2 peak for 30 to 60 minutes and resistance exercises; and a control group (CG) with 54 (60 +/- 7.7 years old) who did not participate in the EP. In the EG, blood pressure (BP) was measured before each session and the measurement of anthropometric variables (AV) at the beginning of the program and after three months. In the CG the BP and the VA were evaluated in the doctor's office at the beginning and at the end of the study. Data were expressed as mean +/- standard deviation (SD). Pearson correlation and t test were used. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant., Results: In the CG there was no significant difference in AV and BP at the beginning and at the end of the study. In the EG, there was no significant alteration in the AV, however, there was blood pressure reduction of 12% in systolic BP (-17.5 mmHg, p = 0.001) and 9% in Diastolic BP (-8.1 mmHg, p = 0. 01) at the end of the study. There was no correlation between the AV and decrease in BP (r = 0.1)., Conclusion: The blood pressure reduction was not correlated with reduction of anthropometric measures after the exercising period.