title: Physical fitness levels of adolescents in the Ile de France region: comparisons with European standards and relevance for future cardiovascular risk.
abstract: The aim was to assess physical fitness in French schoolchildren in the region of Ile de France and to compare the results with European countries. The relationship between physical fitness and future health profile was of particular interest. Participants were 1851 French youth in the Ile de France region. Cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance, speed, flexibility and speed agility were tested. Independent t-tests were used to compare differences between different variables. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients assessed the relationship between body mass index, socio-economic status and physical fitness. Boys were physically fitter than girls with the most significant difference being in agility. Subjects of normal weight have significantly better results than overweight or obese adolescents (+10·9% to 56·1%) (P<0·05). Subjects with high socio-economic status had better physical fitness than those with low socio-economic status (+0·5% to 9·4%) (P<0·05). Results also showed that the percentage of adolescents at increased future cardiovascular risk was 15·3% and 10·2% for boys and girls, respectively. Physical fitness in French schoolchildren living in the region of Ile de France is relatively low and unfavourable, especially in girls, when compared with existing European test results. In contrast, the adolescent boys are generally fitter and also above the average of the European data. Introducing a health promotion curriculum in the schools of Ile de France is suggested to improve health and physical fitness.
authors.affiliation: Inserm U995, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France. jeremy.vanhelst@chru-lille.fr.|CIC-PT-1403-Inserm-CH&U, Lille, France. jeremy.vanhelst@chru-lille.fr.
authors.forename: Jérémy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanhelst
authors.affiliation: Professor Emeritus, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Fardy
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Epidemiology Research Unit, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris 13 University, Bobigny, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chapelot
authors.affiliation: Mutualité Française, Ile de France, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Czaplicki
authors.affiliation: Fédération Nationale Mutualité Française, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Zekya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ulmer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D000072599:Cardiorespiratory Fitness; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010807:Physical Endurance; D010809:Physical Fitness; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: aerobic fitness; assessment; flexibility; health; muscular strength; speed; youth