Relationship between Physical Fitness and Nutritional Status in a Portuguese Sample of School Adolescents

The World Health Organization classifies overweight and obesity the fifth leading risk for global deaths [1]. If no action will be taken to prevent them, they will have an epidemic proliferation and 50% of the population in 2025 will be overweight or obese. Once considered a high-income country problem, overweight and obesity are now on the rise in low and middle income countries, particularly in urban settings. A recent European report [2], which covers 36 countries, shows that the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in adolescents ranges from 5% to more than 25%, demonstrating that the higher prevalence of obesity was found in Malta (30% for boys and 25% for girls) and lowest in the Nederland’s (5% for boys and 7% for girls). In Portugal, its prevalence is estimated at 25% for boys and 23% for girls. We believe that adolescents with behavioral, biological, social and cultural predisposition to be sedentary, overweight and obese deserve special attention.