Influence of sexual maturation on cardiorespiratory fitness in school children

Levels of aerobic fitness of children and adolescents are declining worldwide, which results in increased health risks. In Brazil, approximately 60% of the students present levels of fitness lower than recommended for age and sex. Our objective was to determine the influence of sexual maturation and physical activity level on cardiorespiratory fitness of schoolchildren of both sexes aged 9-14 years. This was a cross-sectional including a sample of 747 individuals (47.12% female) aged 9 to 14 years enrolled in public schools. The participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) and a questionnaire on sexual maturation, and performed the shuttle run test. In order to verify the influence of sexual maturation on VO2max, students were categorized according to maturation stage (prepubertal, pubertal and postpubertal), sex, and interaction between sex and maturation. ANOVA was used to compare mean maturation stages and to assess whether sex and maturation affect VO2max. There was influence of maturation (p <0.0001; Eta2 = 0.069, power = 1) and sex (p <0.0001; Eta2 = 0.059, power = 1) on aerobic fitness. VO2max values were different between the maturation stages in both sexes, and between sexes at the same maturation stage. Maturation influenced VO2max with a decreasing linear trend (p <0.0001; Eta2 = 0.221, power = 1) for females. An influence of maturation and physical activity level on cardiorespiratory fitness was observed in schoolchildren of Aracaju city.