Overweight or Obesity, Gender, and Age Influence on High School Students of the City of Toluca’s Physical Fitness

Abstract

Material and Method This is a prospective, cross-sectional, and correlational study with a probabilistic sampling in which 150 teenagers from three different high schools from the city of Toluca, Mexico, aged 15–17, were assessed. Objective To determine if weight, age, and gender have an influence on physical fitness evaluated with the EUROFIT and ALPHA-FITNESS batteries. Results Women have a higher overweight and obesity rate than men (3 : 1). Adolescents who have normal weight have regular physical fitness (74.9%). When comparing genders we found that men have a higher mean than women in the tests, except for skinfold thickness and waist circumference. Age was only correlated with the plate tapping test (p = 0.001). There are significant differences in the standing broad jump test and the Course-Navette of the EUROFIT and ALPHA-FITNESS batteries (p = 0.000). Conclusions It is likely that regular physical activity, and not normal weight, helps generate healthy physical fitness. Male subjects had a higher mean than women, reporting a better physical fitness and more frequent physical activity.

Prevalence of Underweight and Overweight and Its Association with Physical Fitness in Egyptian Schoolchildren

“…Previous studies have showed that childhood physical fitness levels are significantly related to BMI values [17,34], more precisely it was found that children with higher BMI values have lower levels of physical fitness [4,11,15]. Based on these findings, the negative impact of overweight on the physical fitness levels widely observed in the age group of 9-11-years compared to 6-8-years old could be explained by the difference in BMI values between these age groups.…”

“…Overweight and obesity in schoolchildren could be related to multiple causes, such as the modern lifestyle characterized by inactivity and passive overeating over past years [3]. Previous studies have suggested that the prevalence of overweight and obesity could differ from birth to adolescence and between males and females [4][5][6][7].…”

“…Similarly, Maruf et al [5] showed that age significantly affect overweight (i.e., derived from BMI) prevalence in Nigeria and reported that males between the age of 2 and 6 years had a higher BMI than females; while the opposite results were observed in the age group of 11-18 years. Recently, Cruz Estrada et al [4] showed that among Mexican adolescents aged between 15 and 17 years, females have a higher overweight rate (3:1) and a lower physical fitness performance than males.…”

“…Although age and physical fitness levels [15][16][17][18][19] were shown to affect the children's BMI status and there is a difference between males and females [4,5], no previous study have sought to examine the possible effect of being underweight or overweight on the physical fitness levels of children, by taking into consideration age and gender. Therefore, given the unsatisfactory data in this field, especially in children from LMICs, the purpose of this study was (i) to examine underweight and overweight prevalence and (ii) to evaluate its effect on the physical fitness level among schoolchildren in Egypt.…”

Demographic Characteristics and Body Mass Index in Obese Adolescents

“…However, other studies have shown that obesity is more common in girls than boys (Estrada, Sotelo, Valdes-Ramos, Murúa, & Manjarrez-Montes-de-Oca, 2017). This happens through the effect of sex on physical activity.…”