Assess your Health and Extend your Life - with the Wattbike CRF Health Assessment

Did you know that physical inactivity is todaythe fourth leading risk factor for deathglobally? Inactivity also increases the risk ofmany health conditions,including: coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, and depression.

In the current climate, being unfit and unhealthy has highlighted the increased risks that obese, overweight, and unfit people are facing in terms of virus protection. Obese or overweight individuals are almosttwice as likely to die from COVID-19andother types of influenza. Studies also show that patients who have type 2 diabetes or other metabolic syndromes areten times more at risk of dying from COVID-19. We cover this sometimes complicated relationship between exercise and the immune system inour latest blog.

So how can we quantify, measure, track, and improve physical health, so we can better protect ourselves against disease, and ultimately live longer? It’s a big ask. But Wattbike has the answer:Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) testing.

WHAT IS CRF?

In simple terms,CRFtells you how effective your body is at transporting oxygen to the places where it’s needed the most. CRF quantifies the functional capacity of an individual and is dependent on the current state of a linked chain of processes in your body; your respiratory, cardiovascular and skeletal muscle systems. CRF is therefore health related - where low CRF is associated with high risks of premature death from all causes, and a high CRF is associated with a reduction in premature death from all causes.

CRF is a measure of VO2max, which is the amount of millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute that it takes for your body to function. Your VO2 max score is therefore related to the functional capacity of your heart.Research shows that by improving your CRF score by 8 points, you will improve your active life expectancy by 1 year. Talk about a lot of bang for your buck.

Wattbike is a pioneer of indoor cycling technology, so we created an easy-to-do, accessible, and accurate test that gives each individual their CRF score and predicted VO2max to show them their current health and fitness benchmarks. Individuals are then assigned a personalised, effective training plan that will increase their CRF score at the end of the recommended training block. This isthe Wattbike Health Assessment.