Somatotype, physical fitness components and physical activity levels in children

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between the somatotype components with the physical activity and physical fitness components in children aged 6 to 11 years. Sample comprised 173 children, from both sexes (96 boys, 77 girls), aged 6-11 years, from the elementary school, enrolled in a public school from a county from Minas Gerais. It was obtained information regarding to height, weight, somatotype (mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph), physical activity, and physical fitness (upper and lower body strength, flexibility, agility, isometric strength, velocity, agility, abdominal endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness). Logistic regression models were computed to estimate the relationship between somatotype and physical activity and physical fitness components, with p<0.05. It was observed a significant relationship between age and physical activity, being a direct association between age and physical activity during the week, and an inverse association between age and physical activity on the weekend. Regarding physical fitness components, age was also a significant predictor (except for the upper body muscular strength); on the other hand, from the somatotype components, endomorph showed to be negatively associated with the odds of children be classified into the groups with the best results for abdominal endurance, velocity, lower body strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Results highlight an inverse relationship between higher endomorph component and physical fitness, which can be relevant when planning intervention strategies focusing to improve children health, aiming to act through the distinct somatotype components.