This Overlooked Health Marker Is Linked To Better Longevity (But You've Probably Never Heard Of It)

Increasing this can boost your brain, decrease anxiety, improve cardiovascular health and more.

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When you go for a health checkup, there are probably some health markers you’re used to getting checked, like heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

There’s another one you might not have heard of, and it plays a role in longevity, heart health, brain health and emotional well-being.

The marker we’re talking about is VO2 max, or volume oxygen max, which plays a role in your aerobic exercise capabilities.

Paying attention to your VO2 max and getting it in the best shape possible is important for those aforementioned health reasons, but also because women, in particular, lose about 10% of their VO2 max per decade after age 30.

If that isn’t convincing enough for you to take a look into your VO2 max and fitness routine, consider this April 2026 study finding: people with below-average aerobic fitness had a greater risk of increased anxiety compared to those with above-average fitness.

So what exactly is VO2 max, and why don’t more people know about it? How can it be measured, what’s the range to aim for and how does it benefit so many aspects of health? Various specialists answer those questions for you below.

Essentially, VO2 max is a fitness measure in which “V” stands for “volume” and “O2” stands for “oxygen”.

“More specifically, it is a measure of how much oxygen your body uses at maximum effort,” said Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical........

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