Body Physique and its Association with Children and Adolescents' Physical Fitness

Abstract

Body physique components have been diversely associated with children and adolescents' physical fitness (PF) in industrialized countries. However, few studies addressed the importance of these associations in children and adolescents from rural Africa, given their adverse environmental conditions. PURPOSE: To determine somatotype component differences in school-aged youth from rural Mozambique, and to examine their relationship with PF levels. METHODS: Sample size comprises 845 youths of both gender (458 boys and 397 girls) from Calanga, rural Mozambique, aged 6 to 17 years, divided in three age-groups (G1: 6-9 years; G2: 10-13 years; G3: 14-17 years). Health-Carter somatotype components were estimated. PF was assessed with the Eurofit test battery (sit-and-reach, stand long jump, flexed arm hang, shuttle-run, handgrip) and the Prudential Fitnessgram test battery (1-mile run/walk, curl-up). Physical activity (PA) was estimated with a questionnaire developed for Mozambican population. Data analysis included canonic correlation (CC) with adjustments for sex and physical activity. All analyses were done in SYSTAT 12. RESULTS: The mean somatotype of boys and girls, by each age groups were, respectively: G1, 2.2-3.9-2.6 (ectomorph-mesomorphic) and 2.7-3.5-2.7 (balanced mesomorphic); G2, 2.1-3.4-3.5 (mesomorphic-endomorphic) and 2.6-3.1-3.4 (mesomorphic-endomorphic); and G3, 1.9-3.4-3.8 (mesomorphicendomorphic) and 3.0-2.9-3.5 (balanced ectomorph). In G1 no significant association between somatotype and PF was identified; in G2 (CC=0.40, p=0.02) and G3 (CC=0.45, p=0.05) significant results were found. A strength component was mostly positively associated with mesomorphy (muscular development) and negatively linked to endomorphy (fat deposition). CONCLUSIONS: Calanga youth showed consistent associations of muscular strength and their body physique. Although living in a challenging environment (in medical and nutritional terms), their strenuous daily living induces high levels of PF and suitable body types for efficient work. This work was supported by funds from the World Bank Quick Impact Fund through the Higher Education Project-I of the Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology.