OBJECTIVE: To verify the estimate of aerobic power and agreement between direct and predicted measurement by three different field tests. METHODS: The study included 12 subjects (23.1±2.8 years), seven men and five women, who underwent anthropometric measurements of body mass, height and thickness of skin folds. Moreover, the subjects performed a maximal direct test (DT) in a treadmill and three field tests for verification of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), in relative values. The field tests performed were: run/walk, 12 minutes by Cooper (COOPER), run/walk a mile (MILE), and 20 meter shuttle run (SR-20M). Data were analyzed by descriptive procedures and for comparisons between the direct measurement and each of the field tests, the paired t test was used. Simple linear regression provided information about the performance of tests and their equations, while the agreement between the methods was made by Bland-Altman analysis, with determination of the t measurement trend. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the MD and the three field tests. The standard errors of estimation ranged from about 5.8 to 6.0 ml.kg-1.min-1and the correlation of r = 0.61 - 0.64. The limits of agreement were considered large for the three tests, but without bias and an estimation trend. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the similarity between the mean values obtained in comparisons between the field tests and the measurement of reference, the MILE test showed the best performance and agreement to estimate the VO2max.
physical fitness; oxygen consumption; exercise test
