Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39577493›Full record

ArticleJournal of sport and health science2025

The Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery for monitoring and surveillance among children and adolescents: A modified Delphi consensus project with 169 experts from 50 countries and territories.

Francisco B Ortega, Kai Zhang, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, Mark S Tremblay, Gregor Jurak, Grant R Tomkinson, Jonatan R Ruiz, Katja Keller, Christine Delisle Nyström, Jennifer M Sacheck and 17 more

Abstract readConsensus Statement
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of sport and health science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

27 authors.

Francisco B OrtegaDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada; CIBEROBN Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Granada, ES18071, Spain; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FI40014, Finland. Electronic address: ortegaf@ugr.es.
Kai ZhangHealthy Activity Living and Obesity (HALO) research group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada; School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
Cristina Cadenas-SanchezDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada; CIBEROBN Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Granada, ES18071, Spain; Department of Cardiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Veterans Affair Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Mark S TremblayHealthy Activity Living and Obesity (HALO) research group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada.
Gregor JurakFaculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Grant R TomkinsonAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
Jonatan R RuizDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada; CIBEROBN Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Granada, ES18071, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, ibs.Granada, Granada, ES18012, Spain.
Katja KellerInstitute for Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 71631, Germany.
Christine Delisle NyströmDepartment of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, 141 83 Huddinge Sweden.
Jennifer M SacheckDepartment of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Russell PateDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Kathryn L WestonDepartment of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1QE, UK.
Tetsuhiro KidokoroAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; Faculty of Sport Science, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo 158-8508, Japan.
Eric T PoonDepartment of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Lucy-Joy M WachiraDepartment of Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Science, School of Health Sciences, Kenyatta University, P.O Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
Ronald SsenyongaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
Thayse Natacha Q F GomesDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49107-230, Brazil; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Health Research Institute, Physical Activity for Health Research cluster, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland.
Carlos Cristi-MonteroIRyS Group, Physical Education School, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso 2374631, Chile.
Brooklyn J FraserAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia.
Claudia NiessnerInstitute for Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 71631, Germany.
Vincent O OnyweraDivision of Research, Innovation and Outreach, KCA University, P. O. Box 56808 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
Yang LiuSchool of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
Li-Lin LiangInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
Stephanie A PrinceCentre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
David R LubansFaculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FI40014, Finland; Centre for Active Living and Learning, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
Justin J LangHealthy Activity Living and Obesity (HALO) research group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada; Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada. Electronic address: justin.lang@phac-aspc.gc.ca.
Delphi Fitness Expert Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysical fitness in childhood and adolescence is associated with a variety of health outcomes and is a powerful marker of current and future health. However, inconsistencies in tests and protocols limit international monitoring and surveillance. The objective of the study was to seek international consensus on a proposed, evidence-informed, Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery and protocols for health monitoring and surveillance in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years.

methodsWe conducted an international modified Delphi study to evaluate the level of agreement with a proposed, evidence-based, YFIT of core health-related fitness tests and protocols to be used worldwide in 6- to 18-year-olds. This proposal was based on previous European and North American projects that systematically reviewed the existing evidence to identify the most valid, reliable, health-related, safe, and feasible fitness tests to be used in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years. We designed a single-panel modified Delphi study and invited 216 experts from all around the world to answer this Delphi survey, of whom one-third are from low-to-middle income countries and one-third are women. Four experts were involved in the piloting of the survey and did not participate in the main Delphi study to avoid bias. We pre-defined an agreement of ≥80% among the expert participants to achieve consensus.

resultsWe obtained a high response rate (78%) with a total of 169 fitness experts from 50 countries and territories, including 63 women and 61 experts from low- or middle-income countries/territories. Consensus (>85% agreement) was achieved for all proposed tests and protocols, supporting the YFIT battery, which includes weight and height (to compute body mass index as a proxy of body size/composition), the 20-m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness), handgrip strength, and standing long jump (muscular fitness).

conclusionThis study contributes to standardizing fitness tests and protocols used for research, monitoring, and surveillance across the world, which will allow for future data pooling and the development of international and regional sex- and age-specific reference values, health-related cut-points, and a global picture of fitness among children and adolescents.

Indexed as

Exercise TestPhysical FitnessAdolescentChildDelphi TechniqueFemaleHumansMaleDelphiExpertsFitnessProtocolsYouth Fitness International Test

Identifiers

PMID39577493
PMCPMC11863322

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.