The association between physical fitness and mental health in Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

Background: Studies indicate that health-related components of physical fitness are associated with mental health outcomes. However, research is scarce concerning this relationship in young adolescents in general and nonexistent in Norwegian populations specifically. The aim of the study was to examine whether body composition, muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with self-reported mental health in Norwegian adolescents. Methods: Adolescents from four regions of Norway (n = 1486; mean age = 13.9; girls = 50.6%) participated. Selfreported mental health (psychological difficulties) was measured by completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed with an intermittent running test; muscular strength was assessed by measuring handgrip strength, standing broad jump and sit-ups; and body composition was assessed by calculating body mass index from weight and height. Linear mixed effects models were conducted to assess the associations between the health-related components of physical fitness and psychological difficulties. School clusters were included as random effects and all models were controlled for sex, socioeconomic status and birthplace (domestic or foreign). Results: Body composition was not associated with psychological difficulties. Muscular strength was independently associated with psychological difficulties, but when all independent variables were entered in the fully adjusted model, only cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with psychological difficulties. Conclusions: There was a small but significant inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness and levels of psychological difficulties in Norwegian adolescents. The results suggest that muscular strength is not associated with psychological difficulties in adolescents, when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness. Future research should focus on the prospective association between physical fitness components and mental health outcomes in adolescents. Trial registration: The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ID nr: NCT03817047. Retrospectively registered January 25, 2019.

Physical Exercise and Psychological Distress: The Mediating Roles of Problematic Mobile Phone Use and Learning Burnout among Adolescents

“…The mechanisms that may explain the association between physical fitness and mental health may also apply to physical activity and mental health, with physical fitness defined as the ability to perform a physical activity or to perform physical exercise using most of the body structures. [55,56]. Indeed, a recent study showed that both "insufficient" physical activity and "lower" levels of physical fitness are associated with "high" psychological distress [57].…”

The association of physical fitness with mental health in children: A serial multiple mediation model

“…Although physical fitness is considered one of the most important health markers, literature focused on the association between physical fitness and mental health is scarce (Ortega, Ruiz, Castillo, & Sjostrom, 2008 ). Recently, there has been growing interest in this association (Aparicio et al, 2019 ; Avitsland et al, 2020 ), but few studies have provided objective data to evaluate comprehensive physical fitness and its direct or indirect effects on children’s mental health. Physical fitness in children typically has been evaluated using only specific components, whereas the concept of physical fitness should encompass many dimensions and types of testing (Dong et al, 2020 ).…”

Potential Predictors of Psychological Wellbeing in Elementary School Students

“…For instance, examining the relationship between physical fitness and mental health (e.g., psychological difficulties including emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer relationships, and prosocial behavior) of 1486 Norwegian adolescents, a study found that cardiorespiratory fitness was significantly related to psychological difficulties. However, muscular strength was not related to psychological difficulties when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness [ 22 ]. Another study examined the moderate effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on the relationship between critical life events and health-related quality of life (e.g., PWB, self-esteem, family, friends, and functioning at school) among 378 students aged 6–8.…”

“…Taken together, motor skills [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], cardiorespiratory fitness [ 22 , 23 , 29 ], and cognitive function [ 26 , 28 , 30 ] are significantly associated with PWB. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been a lack of studies examining the association of manipulative skill competency, cardiovascular fitness, and cognitive function with PWB in elementary school students.…”