Obesity Status and Physical Fitness Levels in Male and Female Portuguese Adolescents: A Two-Way Multivariate Analysis

Samuel Encarnação (), Filipe Rodrigues, António Miguel Monteiro, Hatem Gouili, Soukaina Hattabi, Andrew Sortwell, Luís Branquinho, José Eduardo Teixeira, Ricardo Ferraz, Pedro Flores, Sandra Silva-Santos, Joana Ribeiro, Amanda Batista and Pedro Miguel Forte
Additional contact information
Samuel Encarnação: Department of Sports Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049 Madrid, Spain
Filipe Rodrigues: ESECS—Polytechnic of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
António Miguel Monteiro: Department of Sport Sciences, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Hatem Gouili: High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Elkef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba Kef 7100, Tunisia
Soukaina Hattabi: Research Center of the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of the Douro, (CI-ISCE), 4560-447 Penafiel, Portugal
Andrew Sortwell: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Luís Branquinho: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
José Eduardo Teixeira: Department of Sport Sciences, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Ricardo Ferraz: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Pedro Flores: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Sandra Silva-Santos: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Joana Ribeiro: Research Centre in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Amanda Batista: Research Center of the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of the Douro, (CI-ISCE), 4560-447 Penafiel, Portugal
Pedro Miguel Forte: Department of Sport Sciences, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Obesity and decreasing fitness levels among the youth are growing concerns in Portugal, similar to other developed countries, with implications for health and psychomotor development. Understanding the influence of health determinants such as sex and age are crucial for developing effective public health strategies. This study aimed to analyze the association between sex and chronological age with obesity status and physical fitness in Portuguese adolescents. A total of 170 adolescents (85 males and 85 females) were evaluated for body mass index, abdominal adiposity, aerobic fitness, abdominal resistance, upper limb resistance, lower limb power, and maximal running speed in a 40 m sprint using the FITescola ® physical fitness battery, a Portuguese government initiative. The general model, analyzed using Pillai’s trace, showed a significant effect of age and sex on body mass index, abdominal circumference, aerobic fitness, abdominal resistance, upper limb resistance, lower limb power, and maximal running speed (V = 0.99, F (7) = 10,916.4, p < 0.001, partial η2, sex = 0.22; age = 0.43, sex and age interaction = 0.10). Boys had higher physical fitness levels than girls in most tests, but both sex groups had a significantly higher proportion of non-fit adolescents, with boys showing the highest number of participants classified as non-fit.

Keywords: adolescence; metabolic syndrome; non-communicable chronic disease; immune system; inflammation; quality of life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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