Factors Associated with Physical Fitness among Overweight and Non-Overweight Austrian Secondary School Students

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate factors associated with physical fitness (PF) among overweight and non-overweight Austrian secondary school students. PF was measured using the German motor test (DMT) 6–18 and students were asked about sex, migration background, weekly leisure time physical activity and daily electronic media use. In total 560 adolescents (56.6% female) with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.4 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.5 ± 4.2 kg/m² were evaluated with 130 (23.2%) students classified as overweight or obese. For the total cohort, results of the multiple linear regression analysis (R2 = 0.34) revealed that a younger age (β = −0.16), no migration background (β = 0.13), a lower BMI (β = −0.29), a higher weekly leisure time physical activity (β = 0.34) and a lower daily electronic media use (β = −0.15) were associated with increased PF. Separate regression analyses for non-overweight and overweight students showed similar regression coefficients except for BMI. In conclusion, the positive influence of modifiable factors such as lower BMI, higher self-reported weekly leisure time sports activity and lower self-reported daily electronic media use should be considered already at young ages to increase physical fitness in overweight and non-overweight youth.

Secular Trend in the Physical Fitness of Xinjiang Children and Adolescents between 1985 and 2014

“…The present study showed that both malnutrition and overnutrition have adverse effects on physical fitness, which is consistent with previous studies [27,28]. The prevalence of stunting and underweight in 1985 was 10.3% and 1.7%, respectively, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined was 0.9%; the former was likely the cause of the decline in physical fitness.…”

The Effects of Daily Sleep Condition on Performances of Physical Fitness among Taiwanese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Gender and age were the important predictor variables for all four physical fitness indicators. As existing studies have only explored the relationship between sitting time, lifestyle habits, sedentary behavior and physical fitness performance [22,24,25], our findings can provide more information about association between lifestyle and physical fitness performance.…”

“…The research design of this study is similar to that of some of the existing studies that used regression models to evaluate the influence of various lifestyle habits on physical fitness using cross-sectional data through regression models [24,55]. Therefore, the limitations of this study were the same as those of the studies using cross-sectional data, in that we estimated the influence factors and speculated the possible effects, but this did not represent causal inference.…”

“…Cabanas-Sánchez et al (2018) found that sedentary time, diet quality, and physical activity influence children's physical fitness performance [23]. Ruedl et al (2019) studied the influences of lifestyle habits such as weekly leisure time, sports activities and daily electronic media usage on physical fitness. They suggested that more leisure time sports activity and lower daily electronic media usage can increase physical fitness in youth [24].…”

“…Ruedl et al (2019) studied the influences of lifestyle habits such as weekly leisure time, sports activities and daily electronic media usage on physical fitness. They suggested that more leisure time sports activity and lower daily electronic media usage can increase physical fitness in youth [24]. A study by Alghadir et al (2020) found that sitting time associated with media use influences physical fitness.…”