Fat-free mass and maturity status are determinants of physical fitness performance in schoolchildren and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to verify whether (FFM), maturity status (MS) and chronological age (CA) are determinants of physical fitness performance, and to analyze FFM and physical performance aligned by CA and MS in children and adolescents. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was carried out in 863 schoolchildren. Weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were evaluated. Body mass index (BMI), FFM, fat mass (FM), MS (Age at peak height velocity, APHV) were calculated. The physical tests of velocity 20 m, agility 5 m x 10rep, and horizontal jump (HJ) were evaluated. RESULTS: The APHV was estimated in boys at 14.0 ± 0.36APHV and in girls at 11.96 ± 0.49APHV. The relationships between CA and APHV with FFM was r = 0.80 in boys and r = 0.44 to 0.45 in girls. The relationships between FFM and physical tests in boys were [HJ (r = 0.70), agility 5m x 10rep (r = -0.68), velocity (r = -0.61)] and in girls [HJ (r = 0.42), agility 5m x 10rep (r = -0.52), velocity (r = -0.20)]. The differences in FFM and physical fitness tests were more pronounced when aligned by APHV than by CA. CONCLUSION: It was verified that both FFM, CA, and APHV are determinants of physical fitness performance. In addition, the APHV should be introduced in physical education as a means of ranking physical performance among schoolchildren.

[Physical fitness in children and adolescents categorized by fat mass level]. / Aptitud física en niños y adolescentes categorizados por nivel de masa grasa.

Physical fitness is one of the important health markers as a predictor of cardiovascular disease mor bidity and mortality. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between fat mass with anthropome tric indicators and, secondly, to compare the performance of physical fitness among children and adolescents categorized with adequate and excess fat mass. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 863 schoolchildren aged 6 to 17.9 years. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. physical fitness [speed (20m), agility (10x5m), and ho rizontal jump] was evaluated. Fat mass was calculated by anthropometric equation, body mass index, ponderal index, and waist to height ratio. Data were grouped into 6 age groups. RESULTS: Children of both sexes categorized as having adequate levels of fat mass had lower values of body mass index, ponderal index, and waist to height ratio than children with high levels of fat mass. In physical fitness, children with adequate fat mass were better than the ones with elevated fat mass. In girls with adequate fat mass, better results were observed in horizontal jump and agility during adolescence. There were no differences in the speed test. CONCLUSION: Fat mass can be considered as a valuable tool for determining excess body fat and categorizing children and adolescents with adequate and excess fat mass. In addition, having acceptable levels of fat mass may contribute to better physical fitness in boys in horizontal jump, agility, and speed and, in girls, only in horizontal jump and agility.

Validation of a Self-Perceived Adaptive Behaviors Scale in Older Chilean Women and Percentiles for Evaluation.

Healthy ageing means optimizing opportunities that allow older individuals to participate actively in society without discrimination. Learning adaptive behaviors (AB) may be extremely important for individuals for all stages of life. The goal of this study was: (a) to create a scale for self-perceived adaptive behavior, and (b) propose percentiles for evaluating AB in older adult women. A self-perception scale was created to measure adaptive behavior. Anthropometric and physical fitness variables for 192 older Chilean women (ages 60 to 88) were collected and evaluated. Content validity reflected agreement from 0.75 to 1.0. Construct validity carried out with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) resulted in 11 dimensions with 62 items in groups. Saturation oscillated between 0.62 and 0.85 with the explanation of variation as 46.27%. Cronbach's Alpha was r = 0.83. The results indicated that the scale developed was valid and reliable for the Chilean women studied. This scale may be used to measure self-perception of AB patterns in older women. Furthermore, the percentiles allow for classification of the AB by age and anthropometric indices.

Pruebas de aptitud física que realizan los escolares / Physical fitness tests in schoolchildren

The objective was to determine the types of studies that have been carried out according to year and region and to verify the physical tests used according to physical fitness dimensions from 2010 to 2018. A systematic review was carried out. Physical fitness (study types and physical tests) was studied in Chile. The PubMed database was used, considering the period from 2010 to 2018. The keywords used in Spanish were: aptitud física, niños y adolescentes, Chile, and in English: physical aptitude, children and adolescents. The information was recorded on an observation sheet and for the data, the PRISM flow chart was used. 18 studies were identified. 88.9% are descriptive (cross-sectional) studies, 11.1% quasi-experimental. 38.9% were made in the Metropolitan region, 33.3% in Maule, 11% in Araucanía, 5.6% for each region of Los Lagos, Ñuble, and other unspecified regions. In the muscular dimension, it was determined that 38.9% used the manual clamping force and 50% the horizontal leap. In the cardiorespiratory dimension, 27.8% applied the Course-Navette test, 16.7% the 6-minute walk test, and 11% the 100-meter speed test. A high number of descriptive (cross-sectional) investigations were identified and the most commonly used physical tests were horizontal leap, manual clamping force, Course-Navette test, and 6-minute walk test. These results suggest the need to develop experimental and longitudinal studies, as well as the inclusion of morphological and motor dimensions in their protocols

El objetivo fue determinar los tipos de estudio que se han efectuado según año y región, y verificar las pruebas físicas utilizadas según dimensiones de la aptitud física durante 2010 a 2018. Se efectuó una revisión sistemática. Se estudió la aptitud física (tipos de estudio y pruebas físicas) en Chile. Se utilizó la base de datos PubMed, considerando el período 2010 a 2018. Las palabras clave utilizadas fueron, en español: aptitud física, niños y adolescentes, Chile, y en inglés: physical aptitude, children and adolescents. La información se registró en una ficha de observación y para la organización de datos se utilizó el diagrama de flujo PRISMA. Se identificaron 18 estudios. El 88.9% son de tipo descriptivo (transversales); el 11.1%, cuasiexperimentales. El 38.9% se efectuó en la región Metropolitana; el 33.3%, en El Maule; 11%, en la Araucanía; 5.6% para cada región de Los Lagos, Ñuble y no especificada. En la dimensión muscular, se determinó que el 38.9% utilizó la fuerza de prensión manual y el 50% el salto horizontal. En la dimensión cardiorrespiratoria, el 27.8% aplicó el test de Course Navette; el 16.7%, la caminata de 6 minutos, y el 11%, la prueba de velocidad de 100 metros. Se identificó un elevado número de investigaciones descriptivas (transversales) y las pruebas físicas más utilizadas fueron salto horizontal, fuerza de presión manual prueba de Course Navette y la caminata de 6 minutos. Estos resultados sugieren la necesidad de desarrollar estudios experimentales y longitudinales, así como la inclusión de dimensiones morfológicas y motoras en sus protocolos