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Determinant factors of physical fitness in European children

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

This study was designed to explore the determinants of physical fitness in European children aged 6–11 years, cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Methods

There were sufficient data on 4903 children (50.6 % girls) on measured physical fitness (cardio-respiratory, muscular strength, flexibility, balance, and speed) and possible determinants related to child characteristics, child lifestyle and parental factors. Multivariate and mixed linear regression models were conducted.

Results

Age, sex, children’s BMI and physical activity were independent and strong determinants of children’s fitness. Significant but small effects were found for low maternal BMI, high psychosocial well-being and fruit and vegetable intake as protective determinants. Sleep duration, breakfast intake, parental age and education and paternal BMI did not have a consistently significant effect on physical fitness. The role of determinants depended on children’s sex and the specific PF component. Longitudinal analyses especially highlighted the importance of child’s BMI as physical fitness determinant, independent of physical activity.

Conclusions

BMI together with physical activity, diet and psychosocial factors are modifiable targets to enhance physical fitness. This calls for policy approaches that combine these factors in a systematic way.

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Acknowledgments

This work was done as part of the IDEFICS Study (http://www.idefics.eu). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Community within the Sixth RTD Framework Programme Contract No. 016181 (FOOD). Mahmoud Zaqout was financially supported by the Flemish University Council-University Development Cooperation (VLIR-UOS). The information in this document reflects the author’s view and is provided as such. The authors want to thank the participating children and their parents for their voluntary participation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Mahmoud Zaqout, Krishna Vyncke & Nathalie Michels

  2. GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, EU Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Saragossa, Spain

    Luis A. Moreno & Pilar De Miguel-Etayo

  3. Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Sciences-CNR, Avellino, Italy

    Fabio Lauria

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

    Denes Molnar

  5. Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine (EPSO), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Lauren Lissner & Monica Hunsberger

  6. Department of Chronic Diseases, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia

    Toomas Veidebaum

  7. Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus

    Michael Tornaritis

  8. Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Lucia A. Reisch

  9. Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research, Faculty for Human and Health Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Karin Bammann

  10. Leibniz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology BIPS, Bremen, Germany

    Karin Bammann, Ole Sprengeler & Wolfgang Ahrens

Authors
  1. Mahmoud Zaqout
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  2. Krishna Vyncke
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  3. Luis A. Moreno
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  4. Pilar De Miguel-Etayo
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  5. Fabio Lauria
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  6. Denes Molnar
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  7. Lauren Lissner
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  8. Monica Hunsberger
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  9. Toomas Veidebaum
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  10. Michael Tornaritis
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  11. Lucia A. Reisch
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  12. Karin Bammann
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  13. Ole Sprengeler
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  14. Wolfgang Ahrens
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  15. Nathalie Michels
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahmoud Zaqout.

Additional information

On behalf of the IDEFICS consortium.

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Zaqout, M., Vyncke, K., Moreno, L.A. et al. Determinant factors of physical fitness in European children. Int J Public Health 61, 573–582 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0811-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0811-2

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