The magic fitness number
Your fitness level - your maximum oxygen uptake - is perhaps the best measure of the health of your body. At Mia Health, we don't just give you a good estimate of your maximum oxygen uptake. We also give you the opportunity to measure it accurately.
Why fitness is so important
Over the past few decades, there has been a long line of research papers showing how important your fitness is to your health. With low maximum oxygen uptake, your quality of life decreases (1) and you are at increased risk of lifestyle diseases (2), mental health problems (3) and dying before your life expectancy (4). In fact, a large body of research shows that poor fitness contributes to far more ill health in the world than smoking, obesity and unhealthy levels of sugar and fat in the blood (5).
Indispensable oxygen
Actually, it's not surprising that this is the case. The cells in our body need oxygen to function, and the more oxygen the body can absorb, the better off it is. Our muscle cells need oxygen to be able to produce energy, and the more oxygen that reaches the muscles, the more energy the muscles are able to produce.
A maximum oxygen uptake test can quantify just that: How much oxygen your body is able to absorb and utilize for muscle work every minute at maximum exertion. The result is expressed in the number of milliliters of O2 per kilogram of body weight per minute: ml/kg/min.
The result is often referred to as your fitness number. People with a high fitness number are able to maintain high energy production over a long period of time and thus have good fitness.
Trainable obstacles
On its way from the air to the muscles, oxygen encounters a number of obstacles. First, it has to pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. A weak heart can prevent oxygen from being pumped efficiently to the rest of the body. The final obstacle on the way to the muscles is the blood vessels, and both stiff blood vessels and a poorly developed network of blood vessels can slow down the flow of oxygen to the muscles.
In other words, your fitness level tells something about the status of many important parts of your body. With the right physical activity, it is possible to improve the function of the heart, blood vessels and muscles (6, 7, 8) - and thus increase your fitness level (9).
Test your VO2 max accurately with Mia Health
Anders Revdal
August 2024
