Influence of socioeconomic factors on fitness and fatness in Spanish adolescents: The AVENA study

Abstract

Objective. This study was to examine the influence of socioeconomic status on fitness and fatness in Spanish adolescents. Subjects and Methods. A total of 1 795 adolescents (833 boys) aged 12.5–18.5 years from the AVENA study participated in this study. The following physical fitness components were assessed: muscular strength (standing long jump), speed‐agility (4 × 10 m shuttle run) and cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle run). Total and central body fat was assessed using skinfold thickness and waist circumference, respectively. Both parents reported their educational and professional level. Results. Girls with higher paternal educational level and boys with higher either maternal or paternal professional level had higher muscular strength levels (all P<0.05). Speed‐agility and cardiorespiratory fitness were not associated with parental educational or professional levels in boys. In contrast, girls with higher paternal educational level or higher parental professional level had higher levels in both fitness components (all P<0.05). A higher maternal educational level was associated with lower total and central body fat in boys (all P<0.05), but not in girls. We observed a small effect size (Cohen's d∼0.2) in most of these associations. Conclusions. Our results suggest modest associations of high socioeconomic status with better fitness and fatness levels in Spanish adolescents. These associations greatly depend on the socioeconomic status and fitness parameters studied.

The Relationship between Socioeconomic Status, Family Income, and Measures of Muscular and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Colombian Schoolchildren

“…The present findings should, however, be interpreted with some caution, because we cannot rule out sample bias as an explanation (Tables II and III). Although we did not observe a clear, direct association between SES and physical fitness in children from Bogotá, as has been shown to some extent, elsewhere, 5,7,27 the present data do suggest that area-level SES may influence fitness to a greater extent than family income. This may be because this is a better indicator of local-area amenities that provide children with the opportunity to develop or maintain fitness via access to safe play areas or sporting infrastructure.…”

“…Again, these factors have not been considered specifically in previous studies of the association between SES and fitness. 5,7,27 Greater cardiorespiratory fitness in private schools may be attributable to superior facilities and students' greater rates of participation in sports and activities, which promote cardiorespiratory fitness, during and after school. Colombian public schools are mandated to provide 2 hours of weekly physical education compared with the 4-6 hours typical of private schools.…”

Exposure to concomitant low health-related physical fitness components and associated sociodemographic factors in Brazilian adolescents

“…However, different results were found in studies separately analyzing the physical fitness components [9,36]. In a state capital in the south of Brazil, adolescents (10-15 years of age) with higher socioeconomic status had better cardiorespiratory fitness levels compared to those belonging in lower socioeconomic groups [9].…”

A systematic review to determine reliability and usefulness of the field-based test batteries for the assessment of physical fitness in adolescents – The ASSO Project

“…"Power" is actually the application of an optimum amount of force (not maximal) and an optimal speed in order to perform an exercise [173]. The present search highlighted 2 main adopted tests for the assessment of speed, agility and coordination: the 4×10 mSRT with 9 records found [28,31,49,122,124,142,[197][198][199] and the 10×5 m sprint test with 4 records found [160,185,200,201] (Table 4). (Table 7).…”

“…The program is also supported by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). A total of 52 articles have been found that used this FTB (we do not report them in this review), while 1 article has evaluated the validity and reliability of this battery [199]. This is a 6-test battery, including Bent arm hang, Curl-up, 90 degree push-Up, modified Pull Up, Back Saver Sit and Reach, Shoulder Stretch, Trunk Lift (Table 8).…”