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Associations between physical fitness and adherence to the Mediterranean diet with health-related quality of life in adolescents: results from the LABMED physical activity study
While physical fitness and adherence to the Mediterranean diet, individually, are known to be important indicators of healthy lifestyles, Evaristo et al. (2018) here evaluate the individual and combined associations between physical fitness and adherence to the Mediterranean diet with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents. The 956 Portuguese adolescents aged 12-18 years undertook a series of physical tests (ALPHA health-related fitness battery, 20-m shuttle run test, handgrip strength and standing long jump tests) to determine their speed, agility, as well as cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. The analysis models indicated that physical fitness and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were positively linked with the adolescents’ health-related quality of life. After adjusting for potential confounders, it was discovered that the participants with good physical fitness and high adherence to the Med diet scored higher on average for health-related quality of life, compared with those deemed to have poor physical fitness and adherence to the Med diet. In conclusion, the combination of high PF levels and optimal adherence to Mediterranean diet is positively associated with health-related quality of life among Portuguese adolescents. [NPID: resilience, quality of life, Mediterranean diet, Med diet, Portugal, physical tests, speed, agility, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness]
Year: 2018
