Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances in Obesity

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: In recent years, “common mental ailments,” such as adjustment disorder and tiredness due to stress, have surpassed musculoskeletal conditions as the major cause of extended sick leave. The most notable characteristics of these individuals include severe exhaustion—both mental and physical—caused by recognised external stress exposures that endure for longer than six months, sleep deprivation, decline in cognitive performance, and, frequently, psychiatric and somatic co-morbidity. Increased body weight and adiposity are linked to decreased sleep duration and quality. Insomnia, obstructive sleep apnoea, and restless legs syndrome are three of the most common sleep disorders that put people at risk for a variety of chronic illnesses. Recently, a link between poor cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and poor sleep quality has been proposed as a negative health outcome. However, there are few research examining the link between CRF and sleep quality measure. METHODS: A total of 50 obese individuals were selected using convenient sampling technique from Saveetha Medical College and Hospital according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria after which a detailed study procedure was described to the individuals and informed written consent was obtained. Individuals were allocated into two groups using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale- DASS 21 and Sleep Quality Assessment PSQI. Obese Individuals with poor sleep quality and who fell under moderate and severe category for Depression, Anxiety, Stress were allocated in Group A and individuals who fell under only obese category were allocated in Group B. Both the groups were given 3 minutes’ step test and their cardiorespiratory fitness was measured, and the results of the study were associated between the 2 groups. RESULT: It was observed that, the cardiorespiratory fitness of Group A and Group B was found to be significantly different from one another. CONCLUSION: From the result it has been concluded that Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) is found to be less in obese individuals with sleep disturbances, stress, depression and anxiety when compared to obese individuals without sleep disturbances, stress, depression and anxiety.