If you can walk more than 400 m on a hard flat surface in six minutes with no discomfort, you are cardiac fit

On 2nd October, Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) organized a plogging run on the theme "Plog 2 km on 2nd October, 2019" as a part of the Join Fit India CMAAO-IMA Plogging campaign to make India free of single use plastic along with CMAAO, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and all its state branches and Padma Awardee Doctors’ Forum.

We are extending this activity to the 26^th Perfect Health Mela being held from 18th to 20th October at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi and starting the #MainFitToHiIndiaFit movement for Fit Delhi and Fit India.

A very simplistic view of physical fitness is the ability of the body to perform daily activities and tasks without any excessive fatigue. An apparently healthy person may not be physically fit, while a physically fit person may still be unhealthy.

However, physical fitness is much more than just this. There are five health-related components of physical fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. Of these, cardiovascular endurance is most important.

A six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple test to assess your cardiac endurance or fitness. It is a sub-maximal exercise test that measures distance walked over a span of 6 minutes. Walk back and forth in a hall. You are permitted to slow down, to stop and to rest as necessary. Resume walking as soon as possible.

Patients of any age, with asthma, heart failure, osteoarthritis, knee replacement, healthy adults and children can do the 6MWT.

6MWT can be done starting from 2years of age extending up to 65+ age. It decides your fitness index irrespective of health or disease status

• If your 6MWT is 400-700 m, you are cardiac fit.
• If your 6MWT is <200 m, you are unfit.
• If your 6MWT is 200-400 m, you need a fitness program. Discuss with your doctor.
• You are fit if you have improved your walk distance by 54 ft in six minutes.
• If you walk more than 562 m in 6MWT, then you do not require any further exercise tests.
• Improvement of 10% in distance walked is the minimum criterion indicating that your fitness is improving.

Do a 6MWT and join the #MainFitToHiIndiaFit movement.

“I can walk between 400-700 m in six minutes on a hard flat surface without any discomfort.”

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA