Developing and Updating Physical Fitness Norm for Men and Women Aged 18-60 Years of Ardabil Province

The purpose of this study was to developing and updating physical fitness norm for men and women aged 18-60 years of Ardabil province. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 400 men and 400 women aged 18-60 years old with a mean age of 28.16 years, from different regions of Ardabil were recruited by cluster and random sampling and divided into different age classes. In this study, body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), fat percentage, cardio-respiratory fitness, strength of hands (hand grip) with a hand dynamometer, Endurance of shoulder girdle muscles (modified push up), Flexibility, and endurance of abdominal muscles (curl up) measured in subjects. Descriptive statistics were used to classify data, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum variables. In the inferential statistics section, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to distribute the normality of the data and the independent t-test was used to examine the differences between groups. The findings of this study showed that the mean cardio respiratory fitness 44.13 ml/kg.min (men) and 39.83 ml/kg.min (women), body fat percentage 14.29 (men) and 21.94 (women), BMI 24.8 (men) and 24.2 (women), endurance of abdominal muscles 36.89 (men) and 28.20 (women), Flexibility 29.41 (men) and 29.11 (women). According to the obtained results, the physical condition of men and women in Ardabil province is in a favorable condition that the findings of the present study can be used as a reference for future research in the field of health at different ages.