Relationship Between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Objective Physical Activity in Portuguese Female Adolescents

Discussion of physical fitness and its relationship with physical activity is more apparent in adults than in children and adolescents (Malina 1996). A large portion of the variability in physical fitness is not accounted by physical activity (Malina, 2001). This suggests that, among pediatric subjects, other factors are involved and need to be considered, for example, growth, maturation, and other components of lifestyle such as television viewing (Katzmarzik et al., 1998). The current study examines the relationship between physical activity and physical fitness. The sample is composed of 221 female subjects (14.1±1.1 years) from Portuguese Midlands. Somatic characteristics included body weight, stature, sum of six skinfolds and umbilical circumference. Physical activity was estimated using an uniaxial accelerometer (Actigraph, model 7164) on five consecutive days assuming a criterion of 10h per day for inclusion. Health-related physical fitness was defined as one-mile run, sit-ups, sit-and-reach and 20-meter shuttle run. After presenting descriptive statistics, data analysis determined the correlation between indicators of health-related fitness and physical activity.