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ABSTRACT
Steroid hormone cortisol is involved in a variety of bodily processes, including immune system function, metabolism regulation, stress response mediation, and inflammation response. The hormone cortisol keeps the body hypervigilant. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a sub-maximal exercise test that effectively assesses a patient's functional capacity and ability to carry out daily tasks that are important to their quality of life. A total number of one hundred and four (104) subjects participated in this study. Fifty-two (52) healthy male and fifty-two (52) healthy female undergraduate subjects, within the age of 18 years to 27 years of the University of Benin. These subjects were asked to rest for at least 10 minutes prior to the test, the subjects baseline blood pressure, oxygen saturation and spirometry readings were taken, the subjects were asked to walk back and forth as fast as possible making a U- turn at the two cones on the 30m hallway. The number of laps walked was counted and recorded, the laps walked was multiplied by 60m and any additional distance was added to get the total number of distances covered. The subject’s oxygen saturation, blood pressure and spirometry readings were taken again at the end of the test, followed by blood sample collection. From the results of this study, which discovered an increased cortisol level of healthy male young adults than in their female counterparts after a functional exercise, which could be as a result of hormonal fluctuations and individual stress response profiles. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms responsible for this difference and to determine the potential implications for exercise prescription and training programs. There is no significant correlation between cortisol level and distance covered.
