The Most Important Health Metric (Almost) Nobody Measures
Why Your VO₂max Matters for a Long, Healthy Life
There’s one number that predicts lifespan and healthspan better than almost anything else – yet it’s missing from most standard health checks: maximal oxygen uptake, or VO₂max.
In sports medicine it has been established for decades, but in conventional medicine it’s often overlooked. Increasingly, research shows: VO₂max is among the strongest predictors of healthy longevity – independent of weight, cholesterol, or blood sugar.
What VO₂max Is – and Why It Matters
VO₂max measures how much oxygen your body can take in and use under maximum effort (Ross et al., 2016). It reflects the combined efficiency of lungs, heart, blood vessels, and muscles. The higher your VO₂max, the more effectively your body functions under stress.
That makes it an excellent marker of resilience – not only in athletic terms, but also medically. People with higher VO₂max face a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, and even certain cancers (Kokkinos et al., 2022). A large U.S. cohort study in 2018 found that people in the top VO₂max quartile had up to an 80% lower relative risk of death over ten years compared to those in the bottom quartile (Mandsager et al., 2018).
And the best part: VO₂max can be improved.
VO₂max Is Trainable – But Not With Casual Walks
To increase oxygen uptake, the body needs targeted training stimuli. That means Zone 2 training (long, steady-state exercise at ~60–70% of max heart rate) and HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Zone 2 enhances mitochondrial capacity – your cells’ ability to convert oxygen into energy. HIIT pushes the cardiovascular system, raising the maximum performance threshold.
The most effective protocol is a combination: steady endurance training with regular short, intense intervals. Research shows this mix drives lasting VO₂max improvements (Helgerud et al., 2007). The foundation, however, should be aerobic base training (Zone 2).
How YEARS Measures VO₂peak With Medical Precision
VO₂max is the theoretical maximum oxygen uptake. VO₂peak is the highest value measured in a test, even if true maximum effort isn’t reached. For practical and safety reasons, YEARS usually measures VO₂peak – it’s nearly equivalent in meaning, but easier and safer to determine.
Unlike fitness watches or apps, which only provide rough estimates, YEARS uses ergospirometry: a gold-standard cardiopulmonary exercise test with breath-by-breath gas analysis (Weber & Janicki, 1985). You cycle under professional supervision while oxygen uptake, ventilation, heart rate, and CO₂ output are tracked in real time.
The result is not a generic fitness score, but a clinically validated performance index – paired with a tailored training plan designed to improve your individual resilience.
VO₂max: More Than a Sports Metric
In a world where we track everything – blood sugar, steps, sleep, stress – VO₂max is often ignored. Yet it is one of the few metrics with a proven return on prevention: higher VO₂max, longer life, better quality of life.
It doesn’t just tell you how fit you are. It shows how resilient you are (Clausen et al., 2018). How well your body handles stress, illness, and aging. And how much metabolic “reserve” you have before symptoms appear.
Bottom Line
VO₂max isn’t the only health marker, but it’s one of the most honest. You can’t fake it. You can’t hack it with gadgets. You can only improve it – through structured, data-driven training.
At YEARS, we measure it not as motivation, but as prevention. Because true longevity starts with a strong heart – and a body that knows how to breathe, move, and endure.
References
Clausen, J. S. R., et al. (2018). Midlife cardiorespiratory fitness and the long-term risk of mortality: 46 years of follow-up. JACC, 72(9), 987–995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.06.045
Helgerud, J., et al. (2007). Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO₂max more than moderate training. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 39(4), 665–671. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3180304570
Kokkinos, P., et al. (2022). Cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality risk across the spectra of age, race, and sex. JACC, 80(6), 598–609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.05.038
Mandsager, K., et al. (2018). Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with long-term mortality among adults undergoing exercise treadmill testing. JAMA Netw Open, 1(6), e183605. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3605
Ross, R., et al. (2016). Importance of assessing cardiorespiratory fitness in clinical practice. Circulation, 134(24), e653–e699. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000461
Weber, K. T., & Janicki, J. S. (1985). Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for evaluation of chronic cardiac failure. Am J Cardiol, 55(2), 22A–31A. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9149(85)90792-1