[Evaluation of the aerobic capacity of blind people, by direct VO2 maximal measurement]

Physical activity is the basic factor to the human being in order to assume his place in society. Blind persons are often sedentary, which compromises its physical capacity. The present work evaluates the blind person's physical capacity, analysing possible differences related to sex, age and life time blindness. The sample was constituted by 27 blind (congenital and noncongenital), 18 male and 9 female, aged between 17 and 37 years old. To evaluate previous physical activity, a questionnaire, was answered which showed a dominant sedentary population. The maximum oxygen uptake was determined in a treadmill test using standard procedures (Bruce protocol). Medium results for boys were 45.85 +/- 8 ml/kg/min and for girls were 34.46 +/- 3.8 ml/kg/min. The difference between congenital and acquired blindness on the VO2max values was 2.9 ml/kg/min, not statistically significant (p = 0.468). Those findings lead us to consider that aerobic capacity mostly depends on type and intensity of physical exercise which may be temporary related to the onset of blindness and visual impairment degree.