This table replaces RunCalcs' former editorial fitness bands with a reproducible summary of public data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It reports survey-weighted percentiles of estimated maximal oxygen uptake, not labels such as poor, good, or excellent.
Download the data and audit trail
Dataset version: 1.0.0. Units: mL/kg/min. Survey cycles: 1999–2000 and 2001–2002. Geography: US non-institutionalized population.
Estimated VO₂ max percentiles by age and sex
P10 means 10% of the survey-weighted group was at or below that value; P50 is the weighted median. Sample size is the unweighted number of included participants in each row.
| Age group | Sex | Sample | P10 | P25 | P50 | P75 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12–19 | Male | 1,692 | 36.4 | 40.2 | 45.4 | 51.5 | 58.2 |
| 12–19 | Female | 1,618 | 30.2 | 33.5 | 37.9 | 42.9 | 48.4 |
| 20–29 | Male | 422 | 35.6 | 38.9 | 44.1 | 49.1 | 56.3 |
| 20–29 | Female | 379 | 28.7 | 31.8 | 35.6 | 40.5 | 46.1 |
| 30–39 | Male | 382 | 34.5 | 38.0 | 42.6 | 47.8 | 54.5 |
| 30–39 | Female | 382 | 27.3 | 30.5 | 34.3 | 40.9 | 47.0 |
| 40–49 | Male | 326 | 33.8 | 37.6 | 41.7 | 47.5 | 55.6 |
| 40–49 | Female | 314 | 26.6 | 29.6 | 33.6 | 39.9 | 46.9 |
How to interpret the percentiles
Compare like with like. NHANES estimated VO₂ max from heart-rate responses during a submaximal treadmill protocol. A laboratory test with respiratory gas analysis, a running field test, and a wearable estimate can produce different values for the same person.
Use the table as population context, not as a diagnosis or a training prescription. For repeat testing, keep the method, environment, preparation, and device consistent. Use the RunCalcs VO₂ max calculator for field-test equations, then compare changes over time rather than treating one estimate as a fixed personal limit.
Methodology and inclusion criteria
The generation script downloads the public NHANES cardiovascular-fitness and demographic SAS transport files for both cycles, merges them by participant identifier, and retains records that meet all of these rules:
- Age 12 through 49 years.
- Cardiovascular fitness exam status equals 1: VO₂ max estimated.
- Non-missing estimated maximal oxygen uptake variable
CVDESVO2. - Public demographic sex code 1 or 2.
- Positive, non-missing four-year MEC examination weight
WTMEC4YR.
The script calculates weighted P10, P25, P50, P75, and P90 within each age-and-sex group. It also records the SHA-256 checksum of every downloaded source file in the metadata JSON, so a later rerun can detect a changed upstream file.
Limitations
- VO₂ max was estimated from a submaximal treadmill test rather than directly measured with gas analysis.
- The public NHANES component covered ages 12–49, so this dataset does not invent values for older adults.
- Protocol and medical exclusions mean the tested sample differs from all age-eligible participants; the NHANES documentation reports a substantial exclusion rate.
- The values use examination weights but this compact release does not calculate complex-survey confidence intervals.
- The 1999–2002 survey cycles may not describe current fitness distributions.
- NHANES recorded sex as male or female in these public-use files.
Primary sources
Editorially source-checked: July 18, 2026. Values were generated directly from the source files below using the published script.