Aerobic fitness, endurance, and cardiovascular endurance are synonyms for work
capacity, which itself is an important prerequisite for the health and life of every man. The
purpose of this research was to identify the trend of aerobic fitness of students in the last 15
years. The Survey method, which implies nonexperimental crossectional research, was used. The
instrument is UKK 2km, walking test. The total sample consisted of 605 subjects (389 males, 216 females), students of Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, aged 18-28 years. They were
divided into three groups, according to when they were tested, the first group was tested in the
period 1997-2000 (N = 299), the other was tested from 2001-2004 (N = 200), the third was
tested in 2012 (N = 106). Analysis of the results showed a decreasing trend in fitness index of
male students with 104.1 to 77.3, and of the female students from 96.4 to 84.8. T-tests confirmed
differences in fitness index, at the level of p<0.05 for both sexes. The maximum oxygen
consumption among male students declined from 51.3 to 40.3 ml/kg/min, and among female
students from 37.5 to 33.7 ml/kg/min. The results indicate toward decreasing trend in students' aerobic fitness in both sexes, but the trend is less pronounced in female students. Students of
both sexes have fitness index values below the standard norms of the Swedish population. According to the criteria of Cooper oxygen consumption students have moved from the
ìExcellentî to the ìVery goodî category. The general trend of decreasing aerobic fitness of the
population can be seen in the sport and physical education students, as a consequence of lifestyle
in which there is not enough adequate physical activity.

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