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Table 5.6 Relationships between habitual physical activity (PA) and indicators of health and
fitness, and trends in studies of the effects of specific physical activity programs (experimental,
interventions) on the indicators

Health andfitness

indicators

Relationships with PA Specific PA Program Effects

Cardiorespiratory

fitness (CRF)—peak

VO 2 , endurance

shuttle runs

Habitual PA associated with

higher CRF

Favorable influence on CRF;

gains*10% (3–4 ml/kg/min)

Muscular strength,

endurance

Habitual PA—not consistently

related with muscular strength

and endurance

Larger strength gains with high

resistance and low repetitions;

larger endurance gains with low

resistance and high repetitions;

suggested larger gains in later

adolescence in males

Bone mineral,

strength

Higher bone mineral content in

active youth

Variety of PA programs—

increased bone mineral content

and bone strength

Adiposity—skinfolds,

BMI, %Fat

Normal weight youth—less

adiposity in habitually active

youth

Normal weight youth—minimal

effect

Overweight/obese youth—

reduction in overall and central

adiposity with PA interventions

Cardiovascular health:

lipids and lipoproteins

Habitual PA—weak

associations with TC, HDL-C,

LDL-C, and triglycerides

Weak beneficial effect of

MVPA on HDL-C and

triglycerides; no effect on TC

and LDL-C

Cardiovascular health:

blood pressures

Normotensive youth—no clear

association between habitual

PA and blood pressures

Hypertensive youth—aerobic

PA programs favorably

influence blood pressures

Mild essential hypertension—

suggestive beneficial effect

Cardiovascular health:

inflamation markers

Habitual PA—weak

associations with levels of

fibrinogen and C-reactive

protein, inconclusive for

endothelial function

Obese youth—aerobic PA

programs improve resting vagal

tone (heart rate variability)

Clustered

cardiometabolic risk

High PA, high CRF—both

associated with a better

metabolic profile; association is

stronger for CRF than PA

Overweight/obese youth—

improved metabolic profile with

PA intervention

Psychobehavioral

health

Evidence mixed, largely for

adolescents; PA positively

associated with global and

physical self-concept, sport

competence; academic

performance, tests of cognitive

function

PA in conjunction with

cognitive behavioral

modification—beneficial effect

on anxiety and depression

symptoms; PA alone—small

positive effect

Collated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expert panel (Strong et al. 2005 )
and Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee ( 2008 ). Additional references indicated in
Appendix 2

90 R.M. Malina et al.