Health-related physical fitness in Brazilian adolescents from a small town of German colonization

AbstractObjectiveTo identify the health-related physical fitness profile of Brazilian adolescents (10–17 years) living in a small town of German colonization and to describe the prevalence of those with low levels of physical fitness according to sex and age.MethodThis is a school-based cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted with all adolescents (10–17 years) enrolled in five public schools of São Bonifácio, Brazil. The study included 277 adolescents (145 boys and 132 girls). The FITNESSGRAM® test battery was applied for the assessment of percent body fat, flexibility, muscle strength/endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness.ResultsHigher mean values of percent body fat and flexibility (p<0.01) were found in girls; boys showed higher means (p<0.01) for pull-up and cardiorespiratory fitness tests. The prevalence of adolescents with low levels of physical fitness was high for percent body fat (boys: 29.3%, girls: 31.8%, p=0.75), flexibility (boys: 26.9%, girls: 54.5%, p