Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO2) for cycle ergometry and body composition in untrained healthy young men. Fifty-six men underwent body composition measurements and ramp work rate tests at 60 revolutions/minute on a cycle ergometer. Cell mass (CM), fat mass (FM), lean body mass (LMB) and total body mass (TBM) were assessed by multifrequency and segmental bioelectric impedance analysis. Resting, unloaded, and peak VO2 were determined by a gas analyzer, and their relationships with CM, FM, LBM, and TBM were analyzed. Values of VO2/TBM were positively related to the increasing CM/TBM ratios (p < 0.05-0.01). However, VO2/CM did not change with anthropometric characteristics (p > 0.05). Resting, unloaded and peak VO2 were more strongly related to CM (p < 0.005-0.001) than to FM, LBM or TBM. Our findings revealed that FM, LBM and TBM least affected the relationship between VO2 and CM. These data suggest that CM actually provides the preferred frame of reference for estimating the VO2 for cycle ergometry at 60 revolutions/minute in untrained healthy young men.