The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study is comprised of women and men who received a preventive medical examination at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX during 1970-2006. The examination consists of a medical history questionnaire that includes information on exercise habits and other lifestyle factors, a clinical examination by a physician, and an extensive clinical evaluation that includes a maximal exercise test on a treadmill to assess cardiorespiratory fitness. Nearly 75,000 individuals have completed this evaluation. For this presentation we used data from the medical history questionnaire to identify people who reported their exercise habits. Some people (n=26,270) reported no exercise in the past month; of the 48,694 individuals who reported exercising in the past month 2,681 swam, 21,832 walked, 20,925 ran, and 3,256 participated in aerobics classes. Treadmill test data were used to sort participants into low, moderate, and high categories of cardiorespiratory fitness. Low fitness was present in 27.1% of those reporting no exercise; and the percent in the low fitness category was much lower for swimmers (4.2%), walkers (9.2%), runners (2.5%), and those attending aerobics class (3.0%). More than 70% of swimmers, runners, and aerobics class participants scored in the high fitness category. We also evaluated risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the various exercise groups. In general, the swimmers had favorable risk factor profiles. We conclude that regular swimming is associated with good health and fitness, and that these benefits are comparable to those seen in individuals who participate in other common forms of regular exercise. Steven N. Blair is a Professor at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina and an Executive Lecturer at the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation at the University of North Texas. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and the College of Education at the University of Houston. He is a Benjamin Meaker Fellow at the University of Bristol, England. Dr. Blair is a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology, Society for Behavioral Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, and American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education; and was elected to membership in the American Epidemiological Society. He was the first president of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and is a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Dr. Blair is the recipient of three honorary doctoral degrees--Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium; Doctor of Health Science degree from Lander University, U.S.; and Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, University of Bristol, UK. He has received awards from many professional associations. He was granted a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, and is one of the few individuals outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion. He has delivered lectures to medical, scientific, and lay groups in 48 states and 30 countries. His research focuses on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease. He has published over 370 papers and chapters in the scientific literature, and was the Senior Scientific Editor for the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.
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