Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 24, 2025
08:56
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
14.0K
Temporal trends in step test performance for Chinese adults between 2000 and 2014
Yang Liu1,2, Mark S Tremblay3, Grant R Tomkinson4,5
1School of Physical Education and Sport Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness
|August 12, 2021
Summary
Chinese adults showed minimal gains in cardiorespiratory endurance from 2000-2014. However, significant improvements occurred for lower-performing individuals, highlighting public health relevance for improving endurance and reducing mortality risk.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Exercise Physiology
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Cardiorespiratory endurance is a key indicator of adult health and functional capacity.
- Assessing temporal trends in physical fitness is crucial for public health surveillance.
- Step test performance serves as a valuable metric for evaluating cardiorespiratory fitness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze changes in cardiorespiratory endurance among Chinese adults from 2000 to 2014.
- To identify trends in step test performance across different demographic and occupational groups.
- To understand the evolution of physical fitness levels within the Chinese adult population over a 14-year period.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a large, nationally representative dataset (n=603,977) of step test results from Chinese adults (aged 20-59).
- Employed sample-weighted linear regression to estimate temporal trends in mean performance.
- Analyzed changes in performance variability using the ratio of coefficients of variation (CVs).
Main Results:
- Overall mean step test performance showed a negligible improvement (0.12 standardized effect size).
- Variability in performance significantly decreased over time (CV ratio: 0.86).
- Individuals in the lower percentiles (below 10th) demonstrated substantial improvements, while higher performers (above 90th) showed slight declines in variability.
Conclusions:
- Significant improvements in step test performance were observed for low to average performing Chinese adults.
- These findings suggest a narrowing performance gap, with notable gains at the lower end of the fitness spectrum.
- Enhanced cardiorespiratory endurance in lower-performing groups holds public health significance due to its link to reduced all-cause mortality risk.
