Association of Physical Fitness and Diet with Body Weight in Austrian Adolescents

Abstract

Background/objectives: Physical fitness and diet along with body weight are key determinants of health. Excess body weight, poor dietary choices, and low physical fitness, however, are becoming increasingly prevalent in adolescents. In order to develop adequate intervention strategies, additional research on potential interaction effects of these entities is needed. Therefore, this study examined the combined association of physical fitness and diet with body weight in Austrian adolescents.

Methods: A total of 164 (56% male) adolescents between 11 and 14 years of age completed the German Motor Test, which consists of eight items that assess cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance and power, speed and agility, flexibility, and balance, along with body weight and height measurements. Additionally, participants completed a standardized food frequency questionnaire.

Results: Spearman correlation analyses showed an inverse association between physical fitness and processed foods consumption (rho = -0.25, p < 0.01), while sweet consumption was positively associated with physical fitness (rho = 0.17, p = 0.03). No significant interaction effects between diet and physical fitness on body weight were observed. However, both higher physical fitness and greater sweet consumption were associated with lower body weight (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: The present study emphasizes the independent and combined interactions of key correlates of health. It also suggests that high fitness may offset detrimental effects of poor dietary choices. In order to address potential health risks early in life and facilitate future health and well-being, it is important to monitor and control physical fitness, diet, and body weight during adolescence.

Keywords: body composition; dietary pattern; eating behavior; motor competence; physical activity; youth.

Figure 1

Combined association of diet and physical fitness with BMI percentile. Values are mean. Dashed color indicates significant main effect for sweets consumption on BMI percentile.

Figure 2

Differences in BMIPCT between high and low dietary factor scores and high and low and as well as moderate and low fitness scores among girls and boy. Values are mean differences with 95% CI. ** significant difference at p < 0.01.