Aerobic work capacity in high school students in Israel

Maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2max) was predicted in 1,951 high school students aged 14 to 19 years--1,061 girls and 890 boys--from five different types of high school. The schools represented most of the ethnic groups. The mean Vo2max in the boys was 41.3 +/- 9.4 (SD), and in the girls, 34.7 +/- 10.1 ml - kg-1 - min-1; it was highest at the age of 16 in the boys, and at ages 14 and 15 in the girls. Significant ethnic differences in Vo2max were recorded; Vo2max was highest in students of Middle Eastern and North African origin [boys 42.7 +/- 9.3 (SD), girls 35.9 +/- 14.5], and lowest in the subjects of European and North American origin (boys 39.8 +/- 9.2, girls 33.2 +/- 9.3). Israel-born students showed average values (boys 40.7 +/- 9.6, girls 35.2 +/- 10.9). Significant differences in mean Vo2max values were observed in the general and agricultural high schools, and the lowest values in boys were oberved in the heshiva (parochial) high school, and in girls in the state religous high school. The differences in Vo2max in the various subpopulations in Israel can be attributed mainly to different patterns of physical activity and in part to ethnic origin.