Poor cardiorespiratory fitness in first year medical students at a South African University

The personal health behaviours, including physical activity, of healthcare professionals influence their counselling practices as they relate to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, despite the importance of producing healthy, physically active graduates, there are limited data on the physical fitness of future healthcare professionals. This cross-sectional observational study determined the prevalence of below-average fitness in the four components of fitness in first-year university medical students. 152 participants (46 male, 106 female, 20.16 +/- 2.69 years) completed cardiorespiratory fitness tests (submaximal step test), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), muscle strength (handgrip), and muscle endurance tests (sit-ups, push-ups). Sex differences were reported using one-way ANOVA or Chi square test and significance was set at p < 0.05. The prevalence (%) of below-average fitness was 69.54% for cardiorespiratory, 25.66% for handgrip strength, 65.79% for sit-ups, 23.03% for push-ups and 7.24% for flexibility. Physical fitness parameters (mean +/- standard deviation (SD)) were compared between sexes, where it was found that females were more flexible than males (40.61 +/- 8.40 cm vs 36.70 +/- 9.31 cm, p = 0.012). Males had better handgrip strength (88.96 +/- 12.04 kg vs 59.34 +/- 10.36 kg, p < 0.001), muscle endurance sit-ups (33.46 +/- 9.04 vs 24.48 +/- 12.18, p < 0.001) and push-ups (30.28 +/- 13.95 vs 24.27 +/- 12.35, p = 0.009). First-year medical students have poor physical fitness, notably cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength, which are important markers for NCD risk assessment. Tertiary institutions training healthcare professionals should consider developing interventions to improve students' physical fitness thereby influencing their health, wellbeing, academic performance and future counselling practices.