<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk178175164;">Cardiorespiratory Condition and Handgrip Strength Study: Evaluating Physical Conditions in University Students

This study aimed to determine the physical conditions of university students by evaluating their cardiorespiratory capacity and dynamometry. Materials and Methods: The research employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional, descriptive scope. It was non-experimental and observational, focusing on determining correlations between the proposed variables. Additionally, a machine learning model, specifically a random forest algorithm, was employed to analyze the importance of variables such as age, BMI, and handgrip strength in predicting cardiorespiratory capacity. The study involved 12,466 enrolled students, of whom 624 were tested and selected using cluster random sampling. This sample comprised 295 men and 329 women aged 15&ndash;44 years. Results: Regarding cardiorespiratory capacity, the highest mean was observed in tenth-semester students, at approximately 60%, followed by eighth-semester (49.48%) and seventh-semester (46.733%) students. The lowest levels were found in third-semester students (42.87%), followed by fourth-semester (43.03%) and sixth-semester (44.21%) students. The mean dynamometry value was highest among tenth-semester students (39.41%), followed by second-semester students (38.12%). The lowest values were recorded for fifth-semester students (30.57%), followed by fourth-semester students (31.12%). Conclusions: Homogeneous values were observed among fifth-semester students. The university students in this study exhibited adequate levels of cardiorespiratory capacity and handgrip strength, which may help reduce risk factors for potential non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the future.