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Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents

Physical inactivity, low physical fitness, and perceived stress during adolescence are presumed to be risk factors for various disorders and subjective health complaints. On the other hand, physical activity and physical fitness, as well as mindfulness qualities, are regarded as prerequisites for he...

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Autores principales: Østerås, Berit, Sigmundsson, Hermundur, Haga, Monika
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5733357/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29326625
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02176
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author Østerås, Berit
Sigmundsson, Hermundur
Haga, Monika
author_facet Østerås, Berit
Sigmundsson, Hermundur
Haga, Monika
author_sort Østerås, Berit
collection PubMed
description Physical inactivity, low physical fitness, and perceived stress during adolescence are presumed to be risk factors for various disorders and subjective health complaints. On the other hand, physical activity and physical fitness, as well as mindfulness qualities, are regarded as prerequisites for health and well-being in children and adolescent, possibly by moderating the negative effects of stress and protecting against stress-related health complaints. Previous studies have suggested gender differences in the relationship between physical activity/physical fitness and psychological variables. The main objective in this study was to evaluate how physical fitness, along with mindfulness qualities (MAAS-A), pain, and BMI, relate to stress (PSQ) in adolescents. Secondary objectives were to explore the relationship between physical fitness, mindfulness (MAAS-A), and BMI more explicitly in the study sample, as well as to evaluate possible gender differences. The cross-sectional sample included 102 Norwegian pupils in 10th grade (15 or 16 years). Study measurements were four items from the Test of Physical Fitness (TPF), the Norwegian version of the four-factor Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), the Norwegian version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale-Adolescent (MAAS-A), and BMI (recorded in terms of self-reported height and weight). Additionally, pain was measured in terms of localization, number of pain sites, duration, and intensity (Visual analogue scale; VAS). According to the regression analyses, physical fitness could not explain any variation in stress among the adolescents. Nevertheless, there were some negative associations between one stress factor (lack of joy) and components of physical fitness at a group level, possibly influenced by conditions not measured in this study. As opposed to physical fitness, mindfulness qualities, and to some degree gender, seemed to explain variation in stress among the adolescents. None of the physical fitness components were associated to mindfulness (MAAS-A), but some components seemed negatively related to BMI, particularly among the males. Among the females, higher physical fitness (in terms of endurance) seemed related to reduced number of pain sites. Of note, the cross-sectional design did not allow us to determine any causal direction among the variables.
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spelling pubmed-57333572018-01-11 Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents Østerås, Berit Sigmundsson, Hermundur Haga, Monika Front Psychol Psychology Physical inactivity, low physical fitness, and perceived stress during adolescence are presumed to be risk factors for various disorders and subjective health complaints. On the other hand, physical activity and physical fitness, as well as mindfulness qualities, are regarded as prerequisites for health and well-being in children and adolescent, possibly by moderating the negative effects of stress and protecting against stress-related health complaints. Previous studies have suggested gender differences in the relationship between physical activity/physical fitness and psychological variables. The main objective in this study was to evaluate how physical fitness, along with mindfulness qualities (MAAS-A), pain, and BMI, relate to stress (PSQ) in adolescents. Secondary objectives were to explore the relationship between physical fitness, mindfulness (MAAS-A), and BMI more explicitly in the study sample, as well as to evaluate possible gender differences. The cross-sectional sample included 102 Norwegian pupils in 10th grade (15 or 16 years). Study measurements were four items from the Test of Physical Fitness (TPF), the Norwegian version of the four-factor Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), the Norwegian version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale-Adolescent (MAAS-A), and BMI (recorded in terms of self-reported height and weight). Additionally, pain was measured in terms of localization, number of pain sites, duration, and intensity (Visual analogue scale; VAS). According to the regression analyses, physical fitness could not explain any variation in stress among the adolescents. Nevertheless, there were some negative associations between one stress factor (lack of joy) and components of physical fitness at a group level, possibly influenced by conditions not measured in this study. As opposed to physical fitness, mindfulness qualities, and to some degree gender, seemed to explain variation in stress among the adolescents. None of the physical fitness components were associated to mindfulness (MAAS-A), but some components seemed negatively related to BMI, particularly among the males. Among the females, higher physical fitness (in terms of endurance) seemed related to reduced number of pain sites. Of note, the cross-sectional design did not allow us to determine any causal direction among the variables. Frontiers Media S.A. 2017-12-13 /pmc/articles/PMC5733357/ /pubmed/29326625 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02176 Text en Copyright © 2017 Østerås, Sigmundsson and Haga. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Østerås, Berit
Sigmundsson, Hermundur
Haga, Monika
Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title_full Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title_fullStr Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title_short Physical Fitness Levels Do Not Affect Stress Levels in a Sample of Norwegian Adolescents
title_sort physical fitness levels do not affect stress levels in a sample of norwegian adolescents
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5733357/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29326625
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02176
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