Health-Related Physical Fitness in Adolescents from Spain, Estonia and Iceland: A Cross-Sectional, Quantitative Study

• Published in: Sports
• Main Authors: Pablo Galan-Lopez, Thordis Gísladóttir, Maret Pihu, Antonio J. Sánchez-Oliver, Francis Ries, Raúl Domínguez
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: adolescence; habits; lifestyle; overweight; physical inactivity; sedentary; Sports; GV557-1198.995; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10120188; https://doaj.org/article/1413192ac0994f90ab49c69a9d88bbda

The benefits of physical fitness (PF) for health are well-known. Low PF significantly contributes to the prevalence of obesity in adolescents, with an increased risk of developing chronic diseases. The objectives of the present study were to explore the health-related PF components and body composition levels in adolescents in three European cities, and their differences. The present study is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and quantitative research effort with 1717 participants aged between 13–16 years (48% girls), enrolled in public and private secondary schools in Seville (Spain), Reykjavik (Iceland) and Tartu (Estonia). The ALPHA fitness battery test was used with the following tests: handgrip strength, standing broad jump, 4 × 10 m speed-agility, 20 m shuttle run, and anthropometric variables. Regarding body composition, differences were detected for city and gender in height ( p < 0.001), weight ( p < 0.001), body fat percentage ( p < 0.001), and waist circumference ( p < 0.001); but no differences were reported for BMI for both city ( p = 0.150) and gender ( p = 0.738). Similarly, concerning PF, it was detected statistically significant differences between cities and gender in handgrip strength ( p < 0.001), jump test ( p < 0.001), speed-agility test ( p < 0.001), and cardiovascular endurance in both variables ( p < 0.001). In total, 26.8% of the boys and 27.3% of the girls were categorized as overweight; 18.1% of the boys and 31.2% of the girls had an excessive percentage of fat mass; and 22.7% of the boys and 22.2% of the girls showed an excessive waist circumference. The participants from Seville presented the lowest results in PF tests. In contrast, Reykjavik, with the highest results in the endurance and speed-agility tests, and Tartu, with higher results in the manual grip strength and long jump tests, shared the highest results.