Assessment of Cardiopulmonary Fitness and Physical Activity in Health Science Students

Background Insufficient physical activity and poor cardiopulmonary fitness increases the risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality. Sedentary lifestyle is observed among young health science students. Objective To assess cardiopulmonary fitness and physical activity levels among health science students at Jumla. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted on health science students at Karnali Academy, Jumla. Cardiopulmonary fitness was assessed using the Queen's College Step Test to calculate VO2max. International Physical Activity Questionnaire was applied to measure physical activity in terms of Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) value. Data analysis utilized GNU-PSPP software with descriptive and inferential statistics. Result Total 107 students participated (56 females), aged 18-37 years. Their median VO2max was 40.05 ml/kg/min, significantly higher in males [51.69 (IQR 45.81 - 57.57)] than females [36.37 (IQR 34.90 - 38.58)] (p<0.001). Median weekly physical activity was 1030 MET-minutes/week, with males reporting higher levels [1436 (962 - 2670)] than females [678 (414 - 1103)] (p<0.001). VO2max had a positive correlation with total MET value per week (r = 0.504, p<0.001), and negative correlation with body adiposity (p<0.02). Multiple linear regression revealed physical activity level, sex, and BMI as significant predictors of VO2max (p<0.01). Conclusion Health science students at Karnali Academy have average levels of cardiopulmonary fitness and physical activity, lower in females. Targeted interventions can improve their fitness, benefiting the wider population in future. Further research should explore barriers to physical activity and factors influencing healthy lifestyle adoption among health science students in this region.