ArticleEuropean journal of public health2022
Differences in body composition and physical fitness parameters among prepubertal and pubertal children engaged in extracurricular sports: the active health study.
Article in European journal of public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Sex Differences in Upper- and Lower-Limb Muscle Strength in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- Sex Differences in Grip Strength From Birth to Age 16: A Meta-Analysis.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- Extracurricular physical activity and academic performance among Chinese adolescents with high body mass index: a longitudinal mediation analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Changes in Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis and Lipid Profile in Children Diagnosed with Short Stature Who Undergo Growth Hormone Therapy: One Single-Center Experience.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Mapping the Fat: How Childhood Obesity and Body Composition Shape Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Spanish Youth: The Roles of Sex, Age, Body Composition, and Healthy Lifestyle Habits in Cor-School Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Phase angle and its determinants among adolescents: influence of body composition and physical fitness level.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Predictive approach of health indicators from the physical activity habits of active youth.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Relationships of BMI, muscle-to-fat ratio, and handgrip strength-to-BMI ratio to physical fitness in Spanish children and adolescents.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Florentine Normative Values for Physical Fitness in Adolescents Aged 14-15 Years.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Dynamic Muscle Function Parameters in Indian Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case-Control Study.Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolismArticle
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study aimed to analyze the associations of maturity status, chronological age and sex with physical fitness and body composition among active children.
methodsA total of 1682 children (72% boys; age = 11.22 ± 2.64 years; height = 147.57 ± 15.87 cm; weight = 44.55 ± 15.29 kg) from rural areas participating in extracurricular sports were divided into four groups according to their sex and maturity status (prepubertal and pubertal according to stages described by Tanner). Body composition (body mass index, muscle mass and fat mass) and physical fitness (20-m shuttle-run test, handgrip strength and vertical jump) were assessed using standardized procedures. A two-way ANOVA and product-moment correlations were performed.
resultsPrepubertal boys had more fat mass (%) than pubertal boys [P<0.001; effect size (ES): 0.45], while prepubertal girls had more muscle mass (%) than pubertal girls (P<0.001; ES: 0.47). The pubertal group displayed higher fitness outcomes (absolute values) regardless of sex (P<0.05). However, the prepubertal group had higher percentile values in the 20-m shuttle-run test and vertical jumps than the pubertal group regardless of sex (P < 0.001; ES: 0.29-0.48). All the measures of physical fitness were positively associated with chronological age and muscle mass (%).
conclusionsAlthough absolute values of body composition and physical fitness appear to increase among pubertal children participating in extracurricular sports, the percentiles indicate that puberty is accompanied with a loss of a physical fitness levels. Thus, extracurricular sports might not be enough to enhance fitness among adolescents.
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