Health-related physical fitness and sociodemographic factors: a study with schoolchildren from Santa Cruz do Sul - RS

The present cross-sectional study aims to verify a possible association between health-related physical fitness indicators and sociodemographic factors in schoolchildren of Santa Cruz do Sul - RS. The subjects investigated were 1,254 schoolchildren (686 females) aged between 7 and 17 years from rural and urban schools. Evaluation of children’s and adolescents’ physical fitness and health was performed by the following tests (recommended by Sport Brazil Project): abdominal resistance, flexibility, body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). The results show, with respect to flexibility, that being within a health risk zone is more prevalent among male students (PR: 1.15;