Impact of Smoking on Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance During Upper and LowerBody Exercise in Female Soldiers

摘要

The impact of smoking on exercise performance of female soldiers is of interestto the military. Objectives: To study in female soldiers: (a) the chronic/acute effects of smoking on aerobic/anaerobic performance during lower/upper body exercise, (b) the aerobic/anaerobic capacity for lower/upper body exercise and to correlate these values with the Army physical fitness test (APFT). Methods: Healthy female soldiers, 12 smokers, after abstaining from smoking (COHb < 2%) and after smoking (COHb: 6.5%), and 22 non-smokers were studied. Maximal aerobic power and cardiopulmonary variables were measured during lower/upper body exercise using an automated exercise system. Maximal anaerobic power during lower/upper body exercise was evaluated using the Wingate test. Results and conclusions: The chronic I acute effects of light to moderate smoking does not appear to impact the aerobic/anaerobic capacity for lower/upper body exercise; female soldiers have a normal aerobic and anaerobic capacity for upper and lower body exercise with an average level of fitness; they appear to be equally fit for aerobic and anaerobic exercise; no correlation was observed between the APFT and indices of aerobic/anaerobic capacity; maximal aerobic capacity was 60% of men, 72% when normalized for body weight.