Join the campaign “Walk 2 km on 2nd October”

Dr KK Aggarwal

The year 2019 is the year for wellness and fitness. If you can walk 2 km without symptoms or 500 meters in six minutes, you are cardiac fit.

Heart Care Foundation is inviting members of the public in Delhi to join the campaign “Walk 2 km on 2nd October” at various locations. During the walk, you can also look for plastic littered on the roads and remove them to highlight the fact that plastic is banned in Delhi.

The event is being organised in association with Delhi Medical Association, Sports Authority of India and many NGOs.

The 2-km walk test gives cardiovascular endurance for adults; it also gives the fitness index. 

The test involves a walking as fast as possible over 2 km, and the results are calculated from the time taken for the 2 km walk, heart rate (HR) recorded at the end of the walk, body mass index (BMI) and age. Heart rate can be measured using the manual method or using a heart rate monitor.

VO_2max (maximal oxygen uptake) can be calculated by the following formula (Oja & Tuxworth, 1995):

VO_2max (ml/min/kg) = 116.2 – 2.98 × walking time (sec) – 0.11 × HR – 0.14 × age – 0.39 × BMI

(Ref: Oja P, Tuxworth B, eds. Eurofit for adults: assessment of health-related fitness. Finland: Council of Europe Publishing; 1995:1-13).

Calculation of the Fitness Index (FI)

Men

FI = 420 - [(11.6 x min) + (0.56 x HR) + (2.6 x BMI) + (0.2 x age)]

Women

FI = 304 - [(8.5 x min) + (0.32 x HR) + (1.1 x BMI) + (0.4 x age)]

Min = Time in minutes (e.g. 15 min 13 sec = (15 + 13/60) = 15.22 min)

HR = Heart rate in beats per minute at end of the walk

BMI - Body mass index

Age = Years old

The Fitness Index: Interpretation

• Over 130: Markedly above average
• 111-130: Somewhat above average
• 90-110: Average
• 70-89: Somewhat below average
• Below 70: Markedly below average

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