Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness as Major Markers of Cardiovascular Risk: Their Independent and Interwoven Importance to Health Status

The evolution from hunting and gathering to agriculture, followed by industrialization, has had a profound effect on human physical activity (PA) patterns. Current PA patterns are undoubtedly the lowest they have been in human history, with particularly marked declines in recent generations, and future projections indicate further declines around the globe. Non-communicable health problems that afflict current societies are fundamentally...