. 2024 Nov 20:14:101012.

doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101012. Online ahead of print.

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 Ortega¹, Kai Zhang², Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez³, Mark S Tremblay⁴, Gregor Jurak⁵, Grant R Tomkinson⁶, Jonatan R Ruiz⁷, Katja Keller⁸, Christine Delisle Nyström⁹, Jennifer M Sacheck¹⁰, Russell Pate¹¹, Kathryn L Weston¹², Tetsuhiro Kidokoro¹³, Eric T Poon¹⁴, Lucy-Joy M Wachira¹⁵, Ronald Ssenyonga¹⁶, Thayse Natacha Q F Gomes¹⁷, Carlos Cristi-Montero¹⁸, Brooklyn J Fraser¹⁹, Claudia Niessner⁸, Vincent O Onywera²⁰, Yang Liu²¹, Li-Lin Liang²², Stephanie A Prince²³, David R Lubans²⁴, Justin J Lang²⁵; Delphi Fitness Expert Group

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Delphi Fitness Expert Group:
Adewale L Oyeyemi²⁶, Adilson Marques²⁷, Aidan Gribbon²⁸, Anelise Reis Gaya²⁹, Antonio García-Hermoso³⁰, Arja Sääkslahti³¹, Arunas Emeljanovas³², Avery Faigenbaum³³, Bernadette Nakabazzi³⁴, Bojan Leskošek³⁵, Boris Popovic³⁶, Brendan O'Keeffe³⁷, Brian W Timmons³⁸, Brigita Mieziene³⁹, Brooklyn Fraser⁴⁰, Caroline Brand⁴¹, Cecilia Anza-Ramirez⁴², Celia Alvarez-Bueno⁴³, Cesar A Agostinis-Sobrinho⁴⁴, Charles H Hillman⁴⁵, Claudia Niessner⁴⁶, Clemens Drenowatz⁴⁷, Costan G Magnussen⁴⁸, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez⁴⁹, Daniel Berglind⁵⁰, Danilo Rodrigues Pereira da Silva⁵¹, Dario Colella⁵², David Lubans⁵³, David Matelot⁵⁴, Dawn M Tladi⁵⁵, Diego Augusto Santos Silva⁵⁶, Diego Moliner-Urdiales⁵⁷, Dot Dumuid⁵⁸, Dylan Blain⁵⁹, Edtna Jáuregui-Ulloa⁶⁰, Enrique Pintos-Toledo⁶¹, Eric T Poon⁶², Eun-Young Lee⁶³, Eva-Maria Riso⁶⁴, Evelin Mäestu⁶⁵, Farid Bardid⁶⁶, Felicia Cañete⁶⁷, Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez⁶⁸, Gabriela De Roia⁶⁹, Garden Tabacchi⁷⁰, Gareth Stratton⁷¹, Gavin Sandercock⁷², Georgi Georgiev⁷³, Germán Vicente-Rodríguez⁷⁴, Gerson Ferrari⁷⁵, Gil Rosa⁷⁶, Greg Welk⁷⁷, Gregor Jurak⁷⁸, Gregor Starc⁷⁹, Idoia Labayen⁸⁰, Igor Cigarroa⁸¹, Irene Esteban-Cornejo⁸², Iván Clavel San Emeterio⁸³, Ivana Milanović⁸⁴, Janine Clarke⁸⁵, Janusz Dobosz⁸⁶, Jarek Mäestu⁸⁷, Javier Brazo-Sayavera⁸⁸, Jennifer M Sacheck⁸⁹, Jennifer Servais⁹⁰, Jeremías David Secchi⁹¹, Jérémy Vanhelst⁹², Jesús Viciana Ramírez⁹³, João Magalhães⁹⁴, Johana Soto-Sánchez⁹⁵, Johannes Jaunig⁹⁶, John J Reilly⁹⁷, Jordan Smith⁹⁸, Jorge Mota⁹⁹, Jose Castro-Piñero¹⁰⁰, José Francisco López-Gil¹⁰¹, Juliah Wambui Githang'a¹⁰², Júlio Brugnara Mello¹⁰³, Kathleen Janz¹⁰⁴, Kathryn L Weston¹⁰⁵, Kelly Laurson¹⁰⁶, Kevin Till¹⁰⁷, Khanyile Dlamini¹⁰⁸, Konstantinos D Tambalis¹⁰⁹, Laura Basterfield¹¹⁰, Laura Joensuu¹¹¹, Laurent Béghin¹¹², Leandro Dos Santos¹¹³, Lillian Mugisha¹¹⁴, Liye Zou¹¹⁵, Juan Ricardo López Y Taylor¹¹⁶, Lovro Štefan¹¹⁷, Luc Léger¹¹⁸, Lucy-Joy Wachira¹¹⁹, Luís B Sardinha¹²⁰, Lukas Rubin¹²¹, Mabliny Thuany¹²², Magdalena Cuenca-García¹²³, Mai Chin A Paw¹²⁴, Mairena Sanchez-Lopez¹²⁵, Maret Pihu¹²⁶, Maria Jose Noriega¹²⁷, María Medrano-Echeverría¹²⁸, Maria Reyes Beltran-Valls¹²⁹, Marie Löf¹³⁰, Marjeta Misigoj-Durakovic¹³¹, Mark S Tremblay¹³², Markus Gerber¹³³, Maroje Sorić¹³⁴, Matteo Giuriato¹³⁵, Matteo Vandoni¹³⁶, Matthieu Lenoir¹³⁷, Mauro D Santander¹³⁸, Miguel Peralta¹³⁹, Mikko Huhtiniemi¹⁴⁰, Mohamed Ahmed Said¹⁴¹, Mónika Kaj¹⁴², Naomi Burn¹⁴³, Nicola D Ridgers¹⁴⁴, Nicola Lovecchio¹⁴⁵, Nicolas Aguilar-Farias¹⁴⁶, Niels Wedderkopp¹⁴⁷, Oscar L Veiga¹⁴⁸, Pedro Saint-Maurice¹⁴⁹, Peter Katzmarzyk¹⁵⁰, Pontus Henriksson¹⁵¹, Rachel Colley¹⁵², Reginald T-A Ocansey¹⁵³, Reinhold Kliegl¹⁵⁴, Robinson Ramírez-Vélez¹⁵⁵, Ronald Ssenyonga¹⁵⁶, Rowena Naidoo¹⁵⁷, Russell R Pate¹⁵⁸, Ryan McGrath¹⁵⁹, Saima Kuu¹⁶⁰, Sanja Salaj¹⁶¹, Seryozha Gontarev¹⁶², Shawnda A Morrison¹⁶³, Siphesihle Nqweniso¹⁶⁴, Sitong Chen¹⁶⁵, Stanley Kagunda¹⁶⁶, Stephanie A Prince¹⁶⁷, Stephen H Wong¹⁶⁸, Stevo R Popovic¹⁶⁹, Stuart J Fairclough¹⁷⁰, Susana Andrade¹⁷¹, Susi Kriemler¹⁷², Tamás Csányi¹⁷³, Taru Manyanga¹⁷⁴, Tawonga W Mwase-Vuma¹⁷⁵, Tetsu Kidokoro¹⁷⁶, Thayse Natacha Q F Gomes¹⁷⁷, Thordis Gisladottir¹⁷⁸, Tim Takken¹⁷⁹, Timo Jaakkola¹⁸⁰, Timo Lakka¹⁸¹, Timothy Olds¹⁸², Tuija Tammelin¹⁸³, Urs Granacher¹⁸⁴, Valerie Carson¹⁸⁵, Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno¹⁸⁶, Vincent Onywera¹⁸⁷, Vittoria Carnevale Pellino¹⁸⁸, Wendy Y Huang¹⁸⁹, Xiaojian Yin¹⁹⁰, Yang Liu¹⁹¹, Yi Song¹⁹², Yi Sun¹⁹³, Yuan Liu¹⁹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department 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.
² Healthy 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.
³ Department 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.
⁴ Healthy 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.
⁵ Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁶ Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
⁷ Department 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.
⁸ Institute for Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 71631, Germany.
⁹ Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, 141 83 Huddinge Sweden.
¹⁰ Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
¹¹ Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
¹² Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1QE, UK.
¹³ Alliance 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.
¹⁴ Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁵ Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Science, School of Health Sciences, Kenyatta University, P.O Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
¹⁷ Department 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.
¹⁸ IRyS Group, Physical Education School, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso 2374631, Chile.
¹⁹ Alliance 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.
²⁰ Division of Research, Innovation and Outreach, KCA University, P. O. Box 56808 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
²¹ School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
²² Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
²³ 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.
²⁴ Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FI40014, Finland; Centre for Active Living and Learning, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
²⁵ Healthy 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.
²⁶ University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.
²⁷ University  of Lisbon, Portugal.
²⁸ Statistics  Canada, Canada.
²⁹ Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
³⁰ Public  University of Navarre, Spain.
³¹ University  of Jyväskylä, Finland.
³² Lithuanian Sports  University, Lithuania.
³³ The College of New Jersey, USA.
³⁴ Makerere  University, Uganda.
³⁵ University  of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
³⁶ University of Novi Sad, Serbia.
³⁷ University of Limerick, Ireland.
³⁸ McMaster University, Canada.
³⁹ Lithuanian  Sports University, Lithuania.
⁴⁰ University of Tasmania, Australia.
⁴¹ Pontificia Universidad Católica de  Valparaíso, Chile.
⁴² Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru.
⁴³ University  of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
⁴⁴ Klaipeda University, Lithuania.
⁴⁵ Northeastern University, USA.
⁴⁶ Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.
⁴⁷ University of Education Upper Austria, Austria.
⁴⁸ Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia.
⁴⁹ University  of Granada, Spain.
⁵⁰ Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
⁵¹ Federal  University of Sergipe, Brazil.
⁵² University of Salento, Italy.
⁵³ University  of Newcastle, Australia.
⁵⁴ Université Bretagne-Sud, France.
⁵⁵ University of Botswana, Botswana.
⁵⁶ Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
⁵⁷ Universitat Jaume  I, Spain.
⁵⁸ University  of South Australia, Australia.
⁵⁹ University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK.
⁶⁰ University  of Guadalajara, Mexico.
⁶¹ University of the Republic, Uruguay.
⁶² Chinese  University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
⁶³ Queen's University, Canada.
⁶⁴ University  of Tartu, Estonia.
⁶⁵ University of  Tartu, Estonia.
⁶⁶ University  of Strathclyde, UK.
⁶⁷ Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay.
⁶⁸ Pontificia  Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.
⁶⁹ Universidad de Flores, Argentina.
⁷⁰ University of Palermo, Italy.
⁷¹ Swansea University, UK.
⁷² University of Essex, UK.
⁷³ Ss.  Cyril and Methodius University, North Macedonia.
⁷⁴ University of Zaragoza, Spain.
⁷⁵ University of Santiago de Chile, Chile.
⁷⁶ Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.
⁷⁷ Iowa State University, USA.
⁷⁸ University of  Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁷⁹ University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁸⁰ Public University  of Navarre, Spain.
⁸¹ Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile.
⁸² University of  Granada, Spain.
⁸³ University of A Coruña, Spain.
⁸⁴ University of Belgrade, Serbia.
⁸⁵ Statistics Canada,  Canada.
⁸⁶ Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland.
⁸⁷ University  of  Tartu, Estonia.
⁸⁸ Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain.
⁸⁹ George Washington University, USA.
⁹⁰ Statistics Canada, Canada.
⁹¹ Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina.
⁹² Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France.
⁹³ University of Granada, Spain.
⁹⁴ University of  Lisbon, Portugal.
⁹⁵ Universidad Mayor, Chile.
⁹⁶ University of Graz, Austria.
⁹⁷ University of Strathclyde,UK.
⁹⁸ University of Newcastle, Australia.
⁹⁹ University of Porto, Portugal.
¹⁰⁰ University  of Cádiz, Spain.
¹⁰¹ Currently at Universidad de Las Américas, Ecuador (formerly at Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain, during the Delphi survey period).
¹⁰² Kenyatta  University, Kenya.
¹⁰³ Pontificia Universidad  Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.
¹⁰⁴ University of Iowa, USA.
¹⁰⁵ University of  Strathclyde, UK.
¹⁰⁶ Illinois State University, USA.
¹⁰⁷ Leeds Beckett University, UK.
¹⁰⁸ National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe.
¹⁰⁹ National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
¹¹⁰ Newcastle University, UK.
¹¹¹ University of  Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹¹² Lille University Hospital, France.
¹¹³ State University of Londrina, Brazil.
¹¹⁴ Makerere University,  Uganda.
¹¹⁵ Shenzhen University, China.
¹¹⁶ University of  Guadalajara, Mexico.
¹¹⁷ Masaryk University, Czechia.
¹¹⁸ University of Montreal, Canada.
¹¹⁹ Kenyatta University,  Kenya.
¹²⁰ University  of  Lisbon, Portugal.
¹²¹ Technical University of Liberec, Czechia.
¹²² States University of Pará, Brazil.
¹²³ University of  Cádiz, Spain.
¹²⁴ Amsterdam University Medical Centre, the Netherlands.
¹²⁵ University of  Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
¹²⁶ University of Tartu, Estonia.
¹²⁷ University of Cantabria, Spain.
¹²⁸ Public University of  Navarre, Spain.
¹²⁹ Universitat Jaume I, Spain.
¹³⁰ Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
¹³¹ University  of Zagreb, Croatia.
¹³² Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada.
¹³³ University of Basel, Switzerland.
¹³⁴ University of  Zagreb, Croatia.
¹³⁵ University  of Pavia, Italy.
¹³⁶ University of  Pavia, Italy.
¹³⁷ Ghent University, Belgium.
¹³⁸ Observatory of sport Physical activity and culture of Neuquén, Argentina.
¹³⁹ University of Lisbon, Portugal.
¹⁴⁰ University  of  Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹⁴¹ King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴² Hungarian School Sport Federation, Hungary.
¹⁴³ University of  South Australia, Australia.
¹⁴⁴ University of South  Australia, Australia.
¹⁴⁵ University of Bergamo, Italy.
¹⁴⁶ Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.
¹⁴⁷ University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.
¹⁴⁸ Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.
¹⁴⁹ Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal.
¹⁵⁰ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, USA.
¹⁵¹ Linköping University, Sweden.
¹⁵² Statistics  Canada,  Canada.
¹⁵³ University of Ghana, Ghana.
¹⁵⁴ University of Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁵⁵ Currently at the Public University of Navarre, Spain (yet originally from Colombia with large experience in fitness testing in Colombia).
¹⁵⁶ Makerere University, Uganda.
¹⁵⁷ University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
¹⁵⁸ University of South Carolina, USA.
¹⁵⁹ North Dakota State University, USA.
¹⁶⁰ Tallinn University, Estonia.
¹⁶¹ University  of  Zagreb, Croatia.
¹⁶² Ss. Cyril  and Methodius University, North Macedonia.
¹⁶³ Currently at National University of Singapore, Singapore (formerly at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, during the Delphi survey period).
¹⁶⁴ Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.
¹⁶⁵ Victoria University, Australia.
¹⁶⁶ Kenyatta University, Kenya.
¹⁶⁷ Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada.
¹⁶⁸ Chinese University  of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁶⁹ University of Montenegro, Montenegro.
¹⁷⁰ Edge Hill University, UK.
¹⁷¹ University of Cuenca, Ecuador.
¹⁷² University of Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁷³ Hungarian University of Sports Science, Hungary.
¹⁷⁴ University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.
¹⁷⁵ University of Malawi, Malawi.
¹⁷⁶ Nippon Sport Science University, Japan.
¹⁷⁷ Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil.
¹⁷⁸ University of Iceland, Iceland.
¹⁷⁹ University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁸⁰ University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹⁸¹ University of Eastern Finland, Finland.
¹⁸² University of South Australia, Australia.
¹⁸³ Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Finland.
¹⁸⁴ University of Freiburg, Germany.
¹⁸⁵ University of Alberta, Canada.
¹⁸⁶ University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
¹⁸⁷ KCA University, Kenya.
¹⁸⁸ University  of  Pavia, Italy.
¹⁸⁹ Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁹⁰ Shanghai Institute of Technology, China.
¹⁹¹ Shanghai University of Sport, China.
¹⁹² Peking University, China.
¹⁹³ East China Normal University, China.
¹⁹⁴ Shanghai University, China.

PMID: 39577493
PMCID: PMC11863322
DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101012

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 et al. J Sport Health Sci. 2024.

. 2024 Nov 20:14:101012.

doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101012. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Collaborators

Delphi Fitness Expert Group:
Adewale L Oyeyemi²⁶, Adilson Marques²⁷, Aidan Gribbon²⁸, Anelise Reis Gaya²⁹, Antonio García-Hermoso³⁰, Arja Sääkslahti³¹, Arunas Emeljanovas³², Avery Faigenbaum³³, Bernadette Nakabazzi³⁴, Bojan Leskošek³⁵, Boris Popovic³⁶, Brendan O'Keeffe³⁷, Brian W Timmons³⁸, Brigita Mieziene³⁹, Brooklyn Fraser⁴⁰, Caroline Brand⁴¹, Cecilia Anza-Ramirez⁴², Celia Alvarez-Bueno⁴³, Cesar A Agostinis-Sobrinho⁴⁴, Charles H Hillman⁴⁵, Claudia Niessner⁴⁶, Clemens Drenowatz⁴⁷, Costan G Magnussen⁴⁸, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez⁴⁹, Daniel Berglind⁵⁰, Danilo Rodrigues Pereira da Silva⁵¹, Dario Colella⁵², David Lubans⁵³, David Matelot⁵⁴, Dawn M Tladi⁵⁵, Diego Augusto Santos Silva⁵⁶, Diego Moliner-Urdiales⁵⁷, Dot Dumuid⁵⁸, Dylan Blain⁵⁹, Edtna Jáuregui-Ulloa⁶⁰, Enrique Pintos-Toledo⁶¹, Eric T Poon⁶², Eun-Young Lee⁶³, Eva-Maria Riso⁶⁴, Evelin Mäestu⁶⁵, Farid Bardid⁶⁶, Felicia Cañete⁶⁷, Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez⁶⁸, Gabriela De Roia⁶⁹, Garden Tabacchi⁷⁰, Gareth Stratton⁷¹, Gavin Sandercock⁷², Georgi Georgiev⁷³, Germán Vicente-Rodríguez⁷⁴, Gerson Ferrari⁷⁵, Gil Rosa⁷⁶, Greg Welk⁷⁷, Gregor Jurak⁷⁸, Gregor Starc⁷⁹, Idoia Labayen⁸⁰, Igor Cigarroa⁸¹, Irene Esteban-Cornejo⁸², Iván Clavel San Emeterio⁸³, Ivana Milanović⁸⁴, Janine Clarke⁸⁵, Janusz Dobosz⁸⁶, Jarek Mäestu⁸⁷, Javier Brazo-Sayavera⁸⁸, Jennifer M Sacheck⁸⁹, Jennifer Servais⁹⁰, Jeremías David Secchi⁹¹, Jérémy Vanhelst⁹², Jesús Viciana Ramírez⁹³, João Magalhães⁹⁴, Johana Soto-Sánchez⁹⁵, Johannes Jaunig⁹⁶, John J Reilly⁹⁷, Jordan Smith⁹⁸, Jorge Mota⁹⁹, Jose Castro-Piñero¹⁰⁰, José Francisco López-Gil¹⁰¹, Juliah Wambui Githang'a¹⁰², Júlio Brugnara Mello¹⁰³, Kathleen Janz¹⁰⁴, Kathryn L Weston¹⁰⁵, Kelly Laurson¹⁰⁶, Kevin Till¹⁰⁷, Khanyile Dlamini¹⁰⁸, Konstantinos D Tambalis¹⁰⁹, Laura Basterfield¹¹⁰, Laura Joensuu¹¹¹, Laurent Béghin¹¹², Leandro Dos Santos¹¹³, Lillian Mugisha¹¹⁴, Liye Zou¹¹⁵, Juan Ricardo López Y Taylor¹¹⁶, Lovro Štefan¹¹⁷, Luc Léger¹¹⁸, Lucy-Joy Wachira¹¹⁹, Luís B Sardinha¹²⁰, Lukas Rubin¹²¹, Mabliny Thuany¹²², Magdalena Cuenca-García¹²³, Mai Chin A Paw¹²⁴, Mairena Sanchez-Lopez¹²⁵, Maret Pihu¹²⁶, Maria Jose Noriega¹²⁷, María Medrano-Echeverría¹²⁸, Maria Reyes Beltran-Valls¹²⁹, Marie Löf¹³⁰, Marjeta Misigoj-Durakovic¹³¹, Mark S Tremblay¹³², Markus Gerber¹³³, Maroje Sorić¹³⁴, Matteo Giuriato¹³⁵, Matteo Vandoni¹³⁶, Matthieu Lenoir¹³⁷, Mauro D Santander¹³⁸, Miguel Peralta¹³⁹, Mikko Huhtiniemi¹⁴⁰, Mohamed Ahmed Said¹⁴¹, Mónika Kaj¹⁴², Naomi Burn¹⁴³, Nicola D Ridgers¹⁴⁴, Nicola Lovecchio¹⁴⁵, Nicolas Aguilar-Farias¹⁴⁶, Niels Wedderkopp¹⁴⁷, Oscar L Veiga¹⁴⁸, Pedro Saint-Maurice¹⁴⁹, Peter Katzmarzyk¹⁵⁰, Pontus Henriksson¹⁵¹, Rachel Colley¹⁵², Reginald T-A Ocansey¹⁵³, Reinhold Kliegl¹⁵⁴, Robinson Ramírez-Vélez¹⁵⁵, Ronald Ssenyonga¹⁵⁶, Rowena Naidoo¹⁵⁷, Russell R Pate¹⁵⁸, Ryan McGrath¹⁵⁹, Saima Kuu¹⁶⁰, Sanja Salaj¹⁶¹, Seryozha Gontarev¹⁶², Shawnda A Morrison¹⁶³, Siphesihle Nqweniso¹⁶⁴, Sitong Chen¹⁶⁵, Stanley Kagunda¹⁶⁶, Stephanie A Prince¹⁶⁷, Stephen H Wong¹⁶⁸, Stevo R Popovic¹⁶⁹, Stuart J Fairclough¹⁷⁰, Susana Andrade¹⁷¹, Susi Kriemler¹⁷², Tamás Csányi¹⁷³, Taru Manyanga¹⁷⁴, Tawonga W Mwase-Vuma¹⁷⁵, Tetsu Kidokoro¹⁷⁶, Thayse Natacha Q F Gomes¹⁷⁷, Thordis Gisladottir¹⁷⁸, Tim Takken¹⁷⁹, Timo Jaakkola¹⁸⁰, Timo Lakka¹⁸¹, Timothy Olds¹⁸², Tuija Tammelin¹⁸³, Urs Granacher¹⁸⁴, Valerie Carson¹⁸⁵, Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno¹⁸⁶, Vincent Onywera¹⁸⁷, Vittoria Carnevale Pellino¹⁸⁸, Wendy Y Huang¹⁸⁹, Xiaojian Yin¹⁹⁰, Yang Liu¹⁹¹, Yi Song¹⁹², Yi Sun¹⁹³, Yuan Liu¹⁹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department 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.
² Healthy 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.
³ Department 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.
⁴ Healthy 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.
⁵ Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁶ Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
⁷ Department 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.
⁸ Institute for Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 71631, Germany.
⁹ Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, 141 83 Huddinge Sweden.
¹⁰ Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
¹¹ Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
¹² Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1QE, UK.
¹³ Alliance 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.
¹⁴ Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁵ Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Science, School of Health Sciences, Kenyatta University, P.O Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
¹⁷ Department 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.
¹⁸ IRyS Group, Physical Education School, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso 2374631, Chile.
¹⁹ Alliance 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.
²⁰ Division of Research, Innovation and Outreach, KCA University, P. O. Box 56808 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
²¹ School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
²² Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
²³ 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.
²⁴ Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FI40014, Finland; Centre for Active Living and Learning, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
²⁵ Healthy 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.
²⁶ University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.
²⁷ University  of Lisbon, Portugal.
²⁸ Statistics  Canada, Canada.
²⁹ Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
³⁰ Public  University of Navarre, Spain.
³¹ University  of Jyväskylä, Finland.
³² Lithuanian Sports  University, Lithuania.
³³ The College of New Jersey, USA.
³⁴ Makerere  University, Uganda.
³⁵ University  of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
³⁶ University of Novi Sad, Serbia.
³⁷ University of Limerick, Ireland.
³⁸ McMaster University, Canada.
³⁹ Lithuanian  Sports University, Lithuania.
⁴⁰ University of Tasmania, Australia.
⁴¹ Pontificia Universidad Católica de  Valparaíso, Chile.
⁴² Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru.
⁴³ University  of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
⁴⁴ Klaipeda University, Lithuania.
⁴⁵ Northeastern University, USA.
⁴⁶ Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.
⁴⁷ University of Education Upper Austria, Austria.
⁴⁸ Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia.
⁴⁹ University  of Granada, Spain.
⁵⁰ Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
⁵¹ Federal  University of Sergipe, Brazil.
⁵² University of Salento, Italy.
⁵³ University  of Newcastle, Australia.
⁵⁴ Université Bretagne-Sud, France.
⁵⁵ University of Botswana, Botswana.
⁵⁶ Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
⁵⁷ Universitat Jaume  I, Spain.
⁵⁸ University  of South Australia, Australia.
⁵⁹ University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK.
⁶⁰ University  of Guadalajara, Mexico.
⁶¹ University of the Republic, Uruguay.
⁶² Chinese  University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
⁶³ Queen's University, Canada.
⁶⁴ University  of Tartu, Estonia.
⁶⁵ University of  Tartu, Estonia.
⁶⁶ University  of Strathclyde, UK.
⁶⁷ Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay.
⁶⁸ Pontificia  Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.
⁶⁹ Universidad de Flores, Argentina.
⁷⁰ University of Palermo, Italy.
⁷¹ Swansea University, UK.
⁷² University of Essex, UK.
⁷³ Ss.  Cyril and Methodius University, North Macedonia.
⁷⁴ University of Zaragoza, Spain.
⁷⁵ University of Santiago de Chile, Chile.
⁷⁶ Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.
⁷⁷ Iowa State University, USA.
⁷⁸ University of  Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁷⁹ University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁸⁰ Public University  of Navarre, Spain.
⁸¹ Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile.
⁸² University of  Granada, Spain.
⁸³ University of A Coruña, Spain.
⁸⁴ University of Belgrade, Serbia.
⁸⁵ Statistics Canada,  Canada.
⁸⁶ Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland.
⁸⁷ University  of  Tartu, Estonia.
⁸⁸ Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain.
⁸⁹ George Washington University, USA.
⁹⁰ Statistics Canada, Canada.
⁹¹ Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina.
⁹² Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France.
⁹³ University of Granada, Spain.
⁹⁴ University of  Lisbon, Portugal.
⁹⁵ Universidad Mayor, Chile.
⁹⁶ University of Graz, Austria.
⁹⁷ University of Strathclyde,UK.
⁹⁸ University of Newcastle, Australia.
⁹⁹ University of Porto, Portugal.
¹⁰⁰ University  of Cádiz, Spain.
¹⁰¹ Currently at Universidad de Las Américas, Ecuador (formerly at Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain, during the Delphi survey period).
¹⁰² Kenyatta  University, Kenya.
¹⁰³ Pontificia Universidad  Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.
¹⁰⁴ University of Iowa, USA.
¹⁰⁵ University of  Strathclyde, UK.
¹⁰⁶ Illinois State University, USA.
¹⁰⁷ Leeds Beckett University, UK.
¹⁰⁸ National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe.
¹⁰⁹ National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
¹¹⁰ Newcastle University, UK.
¹¹¹ University of  Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹¹² Lille University Hospital, France.
¹¹³ State University of Londrina, Brazil.
¹¹⁴ Makerere University,  Uganda.
¹¹⁵ Shenzhen University, China.
¹¹⁶ University of  Guadalajara, Mexico.
¹¹⁷ Masaryk University, Czechia.
¹¹⁸ University of Montreal, Canada.
¹¹⁹ Kenyatta University,  Kenya.
¹²⁰ University  of  Lisbon, Portugal.
¹²¹ Technical University of Liberec, Czechia.
¹²² States University of Pará, Brazil.
¹²³ University of  Cádiz, Spain.
¹²⁴ Amsterdam University Medical Centre, the Netherlands.
¹²⁵ University of  Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
¹²⁶ University of Tartu, Estonia.
¹²⁷ University of Cantabria, Spain.
¹²⁸ Public University of  Navarre, Spain.
¹²⁹ Universitat Jaume I, Spain.
¹³⁰ Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
¹³¹ University  of Zagreb, Croatia.
¹³² Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada.
¹³³ University of Basel, Switzerland.
¹³⁴ University of  Zagreb, Croatia.
¹³⁵ University  of Pavia, Italy.
¹³⁶ University of  Pavia, Italy.
¹³⁷ Ghent University, Belgium.
¹³⁸ Observatory of sport Physical activity and culture of Neuquén, Argentina.
¹³⁹ University of Lisbon, Portugal.
¹⁴⁰ University  of  Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹⁴¹ King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴² Hungarian School Sport Federation, Hungary.
¹⁴³ University of  South Australia, Australia.
¹⁴⁴ University of South  Australia, Australia.
¹⁴⁵ University of Bergamo, Italy.
¹⁴⁶ Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.
¹⁴⁷ University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.
¹⁴⁸ Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.
¹⁴⁹ Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal.
¹⁵⁰ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, USA.
¹⁵¹ Linköping University, Sweden.
¹⁵² Statistics  Canada,  Canada.
¹⁵³ University of Ghana, Ghana.
¹⁵⁴ University of Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁵⁵ Currently at the Public University of Navarre, Spain (yet originally from Colombia with large experience in fitness testing in Colombia).
¹⁵⁶ Makerere University, Uganda.
¹⁵⁷ University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
¹⁵⁸ University of South Carolina, USA.
¹⁵⁹ North Dakota State University, USA.
¹⁶⁰ Tallinn University, Estonia.
¹⁶¹ University  of  Zagreb, Croatia.
¹⁶² Ss. Cyril  and Methodius University, North Macedonia.
¹⁶³ Currently at National University of Singapore, Singapore (formerly at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, during the Delphi survey period).
¹⁶⁴ Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.
¹⁶⁵ Victoria University, Australia.
¹⁶⁶ Kenyatta University, Kenya.
¹⁶⁷ Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada.
¹⁶⁸ Chinese University  of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁶⁹ University of Montenegro, Montenegro.
¹⁷⁰ Edge Hill University, UK.
¹⁷¹ University of Cuenca, Ecuador.
¹⁷² University of Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁷³ Hungarian University of Sports Science, Hungary.
¹⁷⁴ University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.
¹⁷⁵ University of Malawi, Malawi.
¹⁷⁶ Nippon Sport Science University, Japan.
¹⁷⁷ Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil.
¹⁷⁸ University of Iceland, Iceland.
¹⁷⁹ University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁸⁰ University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
¹⁸¹ University of Eastern Finland, Finland.
¹⁸² University of South Australia, Australia.
¹⁸³ Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Finland.
¹⁸⁴ University of Freiburg, Germany.
¹⁸⁵ University of Alberta, Canada.
¹⁸⁶ University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
¹⁸⁷ KCA University, Kenya.
¹⁸⁸ University  of  Pavia, Italy.
¹⁸⁹ Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁹⁰ Shanghai Institute of Technology, China.
¹⁹¹ Shanghai University of Sport, China.
¹⁹² Peking University, China.
¹⁹³ East China Normal University, China.
¹⁹⁴ Shanghai University, China.

PMID: 39577493
PMCID: PMC11863322
DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101012

Abstract

Background: Physical 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.

Methods: We 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.

Results: We 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).

Conclusion: This 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.

Keywords: Delphi; Experts; Fitness; Protocols; Youth Fitness International Test.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Image, graphical abstract — **Graphical abstract**

Fig 1 — **Fig. 1**
The gender and geographic distribution of the (A) Delphi survey invitees (n = 216) and responders (n = 169) and (B) authors (n = 26). Data shown are n (%). Note that 80 (woman) + 135 (man) = 215, plus 1 person reporting non-binary gender totals 216 survey invitees. The same applies to the 169 Responders. Percentage may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Fig 2 — **Fig. 2**
The percent agreement for BMI, 20mSRT, HGS, and SLJ by total sample, gender, and region of occupation (n = 169). Agreement was assessed by asking participants whether they agree with recommending each measure as the best and most feasible to use in international health surveillance and monitoring. Agreement with the protocol was assessed by asking participants whether they agree with the recommended protocol identified for international health surveillance and monitoring. Consensus was considered successful if reaching 80% agreement or higher. The response options for both questions were “Yes” or “No”. 20mSRT = 20-m shuttle run test; BMI = body-mass index; HGS = handgrip strength; SLJ = standing long jump.

Fig 3 — **Fig. 3**
Illustration summarizing the project and findings.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. García-Hermoso A, Ramírez-Vélez R, García-Alonso Y, Alonso-Martínez AM, Izquierdo M. Association of cardiorespiratory fitness levels during youth with health risk later in life: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174:952–960. - PMC - PubMed
1. García-Hermoso A, Ramírez-Campillo R, Izquierdo M. Is muscular fitness associated with future health benefits in children and adolescents? A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Sport Med. 2019;49:1079–1094. - PubMed
1. Ruiz JR, Castro-Piñero J, Artero EG, et al. Predictive validity of health-related fitness in youth: A systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2009;43:909–923. - PubMed
1. Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Castillo MJ, Sjöström M. Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: A powerful marker of health. Int J Obes (Lond) 2008;32:1–11. - PubMed
1. Ortega FB, Silventoinen K, Tynelius P, Rasmussen F. Muscular strength in male adolescents and premature death: Cohort study of one million participants. BMJ. 2012;345:e7279. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e7279. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- Elsevier Science
- PubMed Central

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

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

Collaborators

Affiliations

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

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources