Health related physical fitness of adolescents from different economic levels

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the growth and health related physical fitness (HRPF) of 258 adolescents from different economic levels (EL) and to analyze their HRPF using reference criteria (RC). Growth and HRPF components were measured, and the second one was compared to the RC to a desirable HRPF. For the statistical analysis, it was used the one-way analysis of variance and Scheffé post hoc. Differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed in: boys´ body mass (BM), body mass index (BMI), and body fat (high X low EL); and girls’ height (middle X low EL). About 93.5% of boys and 97.8% of girls did not reach the RC. It was concluded that the EL may had influenced the BM, BMI and body fat for boys and height for girls. Also, 93.5% of boys and 98.8% of girls did not reach the RC and, thus, were more exposed to chronic diseases.