Gabriel Delgado García1,2,3, Fulgencio Soto Méndez1,2, Alejandro Bruñó Soler1,2,4, Olalla García Taibo5, Arturo Quílez Maimón1,2, Salvador Boned Gómez1,2
1Comillas Pontifical University, Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, CESAG, SER Research Group, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2Comillas Pontifical University, Institute of Health and Sport (ISYDE), CESAG, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
3University of Granada, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Department of Physical Education, CTS-1172 Group on Innovative Strategies for Advancing Performance, Psychology, Education and Kinesiology, Granada, Spain
4
5Balearic Islands University, Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Research Group (GICAFE), IRIE, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Differences in Physical Fitness Between Adolescents According to Sex Adjusting by the Active Tissue Ratio
Sport Mont 2026, 24(2), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/smj.260601
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the differences in physical fitness between adolescents according to sex, adjusting for the active tissue ratio (ATR), computed dividing the lean and fat mass. In this way, the motor performance was evaluated considering the active (lean mass) and non-active (fat mass) body tissue. Forty-six secondary school students were evaluated using the ALPHA-Fitness battery. The raw data yielded significantly better results in boys in all tests (p<0.001; d>0.8), but when the ATR was considered (which was higher in boys by 2.66 units of active tissue; p<0.001), the data balanced out and even in some cases suggested better efficiency in girls. Concretely in the horizontal jump, the adjusted value in boys was 3.46 cm per unit of active tissue and in girls 3.84 cm per unit of active tissue (p<0.001; r=0.55) and in the 4x10 meters agility test, girls completed the course at 1.67 km/h more per unit of active tissue (p<0.001; r=0.62). When adjusting the data according to active tissue, physical performance among adolescents of different sexes tends to balance, and in some cases even favors girls. It would be worthwhile to analyze the causes of girls’ higher adjusted performance in certain fitness variables, especially those related to lower limb strength/power.
Keywords
adolescence, body composition, functional assessment, relative indicators, muscle-fat ratio, motor efficiency
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