Association between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Self-Rated Risk of Depression in Adolescents: Dados Study

Depression is the most common mental disorder, affecting around 5% of adolescents. Physical fitness is considered a powerful marker of physical and mental health. The scientific results on the relationship between physical fitness and depression in the adolescent population are mixed. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to analyse the association between objectively assessed physical fitness and self-rated risk of depression in a group of adolescents. A total of 225 participants (44% girls), aged 13.9 ± 0.3 years, from the Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud (DADOS) study were included in the analyses. Field-based Assessing Levels of Physical fitness and Health in Adolescents (ALPHA) health-related fitness test battery was used to objectively assess physical fitness components. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) level 3 was used to evaluate self-rated risk of depression. Our results showed that self-rated risk of depression was inversely associated with cardiorespiratory fitness (β = −0.172), as well as positively associated with body mass index (β = 0.146) and waist circumference (β = 0.137) (all p < 0.05). Adolescents with low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness had significantly higher odds of self-rated risk of depression (OR = 7.17; 95% CI, 1.51–33.95). These findings suggest that health-related physical fitness, particularly cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition, is associated with depression in adolescents.