The value of VO2max largely depends on genetic predispositions.
It decreases with age by about 7% (for women) to 10% (for men) per decade from around 25. Regular endurance training can significantly improve its value at any age by about 15-20% or 0.5 l/min, depending on the intensity of the exercises. Thus, a trained 70-year-old may exhibit the biological age of an untrained 50-year-old based on VO2 max.
Healthy, untrained men aged 25 have a relative VO2max of ≈42 ml/kg/min, corresponding to 12 metabolic equivalents (METs). Corresponding values are 20% lower in healthy, untrained women, at ≈36 ml/kg/min and 10.5 METs. After five decades of life, at age 75, VO2 max is around 21 ml/kg/min (6 METs), without significant gender differences. Thus, men exhibit a greater absolute decline in VO2 max with age than women. Trained adults show a greater absolute (ml/kg/min/year) rate of decline in VO2max as they age compared to healthy sedentary adults, with no differences in the relative (%) rate of decline. Despite a later decline, endurance performance remains about 3.5 times higher in individuals who have engaged in endurance disciplines throughout life to 70 compared to their untrained peers.
An observational study of a population showed that an increase in VO2max by 1 ml/kg/min at a retest after ten years was associated with a 9% relative reduction in mortality risk. Meanwhile, a VO2 max level of 17.5 ml/kg/min (5 METs) is necessary for an independent lifestyle and a higher survival rate.
Based on: Front Biosci (Landmark Ed) 2018 Mar 1;23(8):1505-151