Effect of Tobacco Chewing on VO 2 max

Abstract

The cardiovascular fitness of an individual is determined by his/her VO₂max. VO₂max can be measured by direct or indirect method. Direct method consumes more time and money, whereas indirect method includes various field tests i.e., Rockport 1 mile walk test, Cooper test, Shuttle run test, step test etc. Rockport 1 mile walk test is very convenient as it does not require much equipment and can be done very easily by the person of any age group. The purpose of the present study was to compare the VO₂ max between tobacco chewer and non-chewer. VO2 max was measured by Rockport 1 mile walk test. A total of 50 male volunteer aged between 18-30 years were randomly selected, their mean age (year), weight (lbs) and height (cm) were 21.68 (±3.63), 138.43 (±27.52) and 164.44 (±23.17) respectively. Total subjects were divided into two groups of 25 subjects each. Group A represented by tobacco chewer and group B represented by non-tobacco chewer. Mean age of tobacco chewer and non-tobacco chewer were 23.24 (±2.39) and 20.96 (±1.51) respectively. Statistical significant negative correlation were found between VO₂ max with age (P=-0.587), and body weight (P=-0.279), which suggest as per the age and weight increases the VO₂ max declines. Statistical significant difference was found in VO₂ max (t=-7.38) between tobacco chewer and non-tobacco chewer. Therefore the result of the present study concluded that tobacco chewing has negative effect on VO₂ max, it can decrease an individual’s cardiovascular fitness by decreasing VO₂ max.

Key words:

VO₂ max, cardiovascular fitness, tobacco chewing, Rockport 1 mile walk test.