The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the body structure and physical
fitness of Finnish (n=26), Hungarian (n=42) and American (n=55) adolescents (N=123). Height,
weight, skinfolds, body fat percentages, circumferences and widths were recorded to define the
somatotypological characteristics and growth type of subjects. To define adolescents’ healthrelated fitness the Eurofit Fitness Test Battery was used. Differences between the ethnic groups in
terms of body composition and motoric performance were analyzed with ANOVA. The prevalence
of overweight was 9.3 % among Hungarians, 23.07% among Finns and 38.2 % among Americans.
PLX is lower (F=10.941, P=0.002) in the Hungarian group compared to the Finnish adolescents.
Finnish adolescents have higher VO2max in both sexes (34.98±4.08; 41.03±4.06 ml/kg/min)
despite the fact that they have higher body fat than Hungarians. Comparison between the different
ethnic groups suggests that adolescents need higher amount and intensity of training to achieve the
proper physical activity level.
Armstrong, N., & Welsman, J. R. (n.d.). The physical activity patterns of European youth with reference to methods of assessment.
Brook, C. G. D. (n.d.). Determination of body composition of children from skinfold measurements. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 46, 182–184.
Cole, T. J., Belizzi, M. C., Flegal, K. M., & Dietz, W. H. (n.d.). Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. British Medical Journal, 320, 1240–1243.
Conrad, K. (n.d.). Der Konstitutiontypus.
Currie, C., Hurrelmann, K., Settertobulte, W., Smith, R., & Todd, J. (n.d.). Health and Health Behaviour Among Young People.
Currie, C., Roberts, C., Morgan, A., Smith, R., Settertobulte, W., Samdal, O., & Rasmussen, B. V. (n.d.). Young People’s Health in Context.
Dumith, S. C., Dusen, D., & Kohl, H. W. (n.d.). Physical fitness measures among children adolescents: are they all necessary? The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 52, 181–189.
Durnin, J. V., & Rahaman, M. M. (n.d.). The assessment of the amount of fat in the human body from measurements of skinfold thickness. British Journal of Nutrition, 21, 681–688.
Eurobarometer. (n.d.-a). Sport and physical activity.
EUROFIT European Tests of Physical Fitness. (n.d.).
Freedman, D. S., Katzmarzyk, P. T., Dietz, W. H., Srinivasan, S. R., & Berenson, G. S. (n.d.). Relation of body mass index and skinfold thicknesses to cardiovascular disease risk factors in children: the Bogalusa Heart Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 90, 210–216. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2009.27525.
Ganley, K. J., Paterno, M. V., Miles, C., Stout, J., Brawner, L., Girolami, G., & Warren, M. (n.d.). Health-related fitness in children and adolescents. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 23, 208–220.
Heath, B. H., & Carter, J. E. L. (n.d.). A modified somatotype method. American Journal of Physical, ropology,27, 57–74.
Kaj, M. (n.d.). A comparison of PWC 170 and 20-MST tests of aerobic fitness in adolescent schoolchildren. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 30, 19–23.
Kautiainen, S., Rimpelä, A., Vikat, A., & Virtanen, S. M. (n.d.). Secular trends in overweight and obesity among Finnish adolescents in 1977–1999. International Journal of Obesity and Relatated Metabolic Disorders, 26, 544–552.
Malina, R. M. (n.d.). Physical fitness of children and adolescents in the United States: status and secular change. Medicine and Sport Science, 50, 67–90.
Marshall, S. J., Sarkin, J. A., Sallis, J. F., & McKenzie, T. L. (n.d.). Tracking of health-related fitness components in youth ages 9 to 12. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30, 910–916.
Martín-Matillas, M., Ortega, F. B., Ruiz, J. R., Martínez-Gómez, D., Marcos, A., Moliner Urdiales, D., Polito, A., & Sjöström, M. (n.d.). HELENA study. Adolescent’s physical activity levels and relatives’ physical activity engagement and encouragement: the HELENA study. European Journal of Public Health, 21, 705–712.
Maximova, K., O’Loughlin, J., Paradis, G., Hanley, J. A., & Lynch, J. (n.d.). Declines in physical activity and higher systolic blood pressure in adolescence. American Journal of Epidemiology, 170, 1084–1094. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwp255.
McAlister, A., Puska, P., Stalonen, J. T., Tuomilehto, J., & Koskela, K. (n.d.). Theory and action for health promotion illustrations from the North Karelia Project. American Journal of Public Health, 72, 43–50.
Mechelen, W., Hlobil, H., & Kemper, H. C. (n.d.). Validation of two running tests as estimates of maximal aerobic power in children. Physical Activity, 8, 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479
National Institute for Health Development. (n.d.).
Nemet, D., Wang, P., Funahashi, T., Matsuzawa, Y., Tanaka, S., Engelman, L., & Cooper, D. M. (n.d.). Adipocytokines, body composition, and fitness in children. Pediatric Research, 53, 148–152.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., Lamb, M. M., & Flegal, K. M. (n.d.). Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007–2008. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 303, 242–249.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (n.d.). Prevalence of obesity and trend sin body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999–2010. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 307, 483–490.
Photiou, A., Anning, J. H., Mészáros, J., Vajda, I., Mészáros, Z., Sziva, A., & Ng, N. (n.d.). Lifestyle, Body Composition, and Physical Fitness Changes in Hungarian School Boys (1975–2005. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 79, 166–173.
Rodriguez, P. L., Santonja, F. M., López-Minorro, P. A., Baranda, P., & Yuste, J. L. (n.d.). Effect of physical education stretching programme on sit-and-reach score in schoolchildren. Science and Sports, 23, 170–175.
Saar, M. (n.d.). The Relationships between anthropometry, physical activity and motor ability in 10–17-year-olds.
Sallis, J., & Patrick, K. (n.d.). Physical activity guidelines for adolescents: consensus statement. Pediatric Exercise Science, 6, 302–314.
Santtila, M., Kyröläinen, H., Vasankari, T., Tiainen, S., Palvalin, K., Häkkinen, A., & Häkkinen, K. (n.d.). Physical fitness profiles in young finnish men during the years 1975–2004.
Slaughter, M. H., Lohman, T. G., Boileau, R. A., Horswill, C. A., Stillman, R. J., Loan, M. D., & Bemben, D. A. (n.d.). Skinfold equations for estimation of body fatness in children and youth. Human Biology, 60, 709–723.
Statistics, W. H. (n.d.).
Tremblay, S. M., LeBlanc, G. A., Kho, E. M., Saunders, J. T., Larouche, R., Colley, C. R., & Gorber, C. S. (n.d.). Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition And.
Vuorela, N., Saha, M. T., & Salo, M. K. (n.d.). Change in prevalence of overweight and obesity in Finnish children – comparison between 1974 and 2001. Acta Paediatrica, 100, 109–115.
(N.d.-b). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 1990–1994.
