Abstract
The aim of the present investigation was to describe profiles of adolescents’ fitness level, identify latent classes of fitness-related risk behaviours, and describe their sociodemographic and environmental predictors. In total, 883 adolescents (16.4 ± 1.4 years; 167.3 ± 10.4 cm; 62.8 ± 13.5 kg; 62.2% males) were assessed for personal and lifestyle information and for physical fitness components. Eleven possible fitness determinants and seven predictors were included. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to determine fitness-related risk behaviours. Logistic regressions predicted class membership and assessed associations with fitness levels and fitness components. Five latent classes were recognised: 1—virtuous, 30.7% of respondents; 2—low physical activity/sport, 18.8%; 3—incorrect alcohol/food habits, 25.8%; 4—health risk/overweight, 15.9%; 5—malaise/diseases, 8.8%. Sex, age, parents’ overweightness/obesity and education, and school type predicted most classes significantly. Compared to class 1, class 2 had higher odds of having all poor fitness components except upper body maximal strength; class 4 had higher risk of low muscular endurance; and class 5 was likely to have lower maximal strength, muscular endurance, and speed/agility. Educating adolescents to reach a sufficient practice of PA/sport could help decreasing the risk of low health-related fitness more than discouraging them from using alcohol, addressing proper food behaviours and habits, and helping them understand their psychophysical malaise symptoms.
Highlights
Low levels of health-related physical fitness (HRF) in youth can influence mortality and morbidities in adulthood for several disorders, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome [1,2,3,4,5]
The fitness level and fitness component details in the whole sample and by gender and age are provided in Table 2, and indicate that males perform significantly better than females, and they show an incremental trend amongst fitness levels with age in all physical components
Subjects from this class were mostly males, older, had low educated parents, and attended professional/technical vocational schools. This is consistent with findings from other studies that found that younger participants were generally more active than older youth [56,57] or that adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES) were less active [58,59]
Summary
Low levels of health-related physical fitness (HRF) in youth can influence mortality and morbidities in adulthood for several disorders, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome [1,2,3,4,5]. It has been reported that fitness is a better predictor of health outcomes in adults than physical activity (PA) levels [6]. Data from cross-sectional and prospective studies have been used to suggest that increasing PA is insufficient since future cardiovascular risk is more. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1933; doi:10.3390/ijerph15091933 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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