US youth cardiorespiratory fitness levels: challenges and solutions.

摘要

The article by Dr Pate and colleagues1 fills in a long overdue gap in contemporary US youth cardiorespiratory fitness evaluation. It also confirms what those of us directly involved in youth fitness and performance have known for many years: a majority of contemporary American youth is physically unfit. As pointed out by the authors, the association between low youth cardiorespiratory fitness and a plethora of cardio-metabolic risk factors has been well documented in the literature. Unfortunately, while much has been said and written about the causes, few real-life, sustained solutions have been identified so far. Therefore, immediate and specific action to improve US youth cardiorespiratory fitness is urgently needed.