Data extraction and processing were provided by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) of the University of Minnesota and the Data and Informatics and Best Practices Integrated Informatics Core (BPIC). Data for this analysis were extracted from electronic medical records of participants who had attended the Executive Health program at M Health Fairview between June 2016 and December 2020 and provided to us in a de-identified manner and following Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) exemption was approved by the University of Minnesota IRB committee (# 11775, ).

This study is a retrospective observational analysis of participants attending a corporate wellness program in the M Health Fairview Executive Health program at the University of Minnesota. These associations partially explain the relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness, increased mortality from CVD, and increased incidence of diabetes. In addition, individuals with lower cardiorespiratory fitness were more likely to have higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, higher systolic blood pressure, plasma glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

In contrast, the lowest cardiorespiratory fitness was seen in males and females who performed sedentary jobs such as farm machine operators, office managers, and supervisors. For example, fields with the highest cardiorespiratory fitness were observed among male construction workers and female construction trade workers. Cardiorespiratory fitness decreases with age and is higher in males than in females and varies by occupation.

In addition, low cardiorespiratory fitness is predictive of disability rates and is positively associated with memory function. Cardiorespiratory fitness serves as an essential health parameter due to its inverse association with the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and diabetes.

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