Body composition and health-related physical fitness in adolescents according to sex
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1981-4690.2026e40244935Keywords:
Adolescents, Physical fitness, BMIAbstract
This study aimed to evaluate anthropometric parameters and physical fitness components as health indicators among adolescents attending public schools, according to sex. This was an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 156 ninth-grade adolescents from public schools in Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and health-related physical fitness components were assessed, including flexibility, lower-limb (LL) and upper-limb (UL) muscular power, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), agility, and speed. Boys presented higher mean values for body weight, height, LL and UL muscular power, CRF, and better performance in agility and speed compared with girls. Most participants were classified as having normal weight (84% of boys and 78% of girls). Adequate performance in agility and speed was more frequent among boys (37% and 58%, respectively) than girls (12% and 38%, respectively). Overall, BMI was weakly and negatively correlated with LL muscular power (r= −0.198) and CRF (r= −0.217), and weakly and positively correlated with speed (r= 0.207). Among boys, these associations were stronger, including a positive correlation with agility (r= 0.245) and negative correlations with LL muscular power (r= −0.303) and CRF (r= −0.319). In conclusion, the adolescents demonstrated physical fitness levels below those expected for their age. BMI showed only weak associations with physical fitness indicators. These findings suggest that these adolescents are exposed to risk factors that may compromise their health and reinforce the importance of school-based interventions to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength, thereby contributing to the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases.
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