TY - JOUR AU - Duizer, David PY - 2021/01/28 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Cardiorespiratory Fitness Assessment and Treatment for Health Span and Lifespan JF - CAND Journal JA - CANDJ VL - 27 IS - 3 SE - Practice DO - 10.54434/candj.76 UR - https://candjournal.ca/index.php/candj/article/view/76 SP - 22-25 AB - <p>Poor cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important risk factor for age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and osteoporosis. When evaluated through an active metabolism test and reported as VO2Max, or the maximal oxygen uptake during intense exercise, CRF is a highly valued functional marker to assess overall wellness and disease risk in the elderly. For every 3.5ml/kg/min increase in VO2Max there is an associated 13% decrease in all-cause mortality. CRF is trainable in the elderly through endurance and high intensity interval training. A Naturopathic Doctor’s holistic approach to optimal wellness includes exercise as a lifestyle intervention and CRF analysis enables their exercise protocols to be individualized for the purpose of improving VO2Max. VO2Max can be improved by up to 11% in 8 weeks with exercise consistency. CRF evaluation and treatment in the elderly population is a high priority of an evidence-informed optimal wellness program and one that Naturopathic Doctors are well trained to lead.</p> ER -