Front Public Health. 2025 Apr 22;13:1550741. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1550741. eCollection 2025.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cardiopulmonary fitness is associated with several physical health indicators in children and adolescents and has shown a downward trend in recent years. The 20-m SRT has received widespread attention from scholars as a recognized indirect measure for evaluating cardiopulmonary fitness. However, few studies have analyzed the association between the weight-adjusted waist index (WWI), a novel indicator, and cardiopulmonary fitness in Chinese children and adolescents.
METHODS: In this study, 41,523 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years in China were assessed for weight, waist circumference, 20-m SRT, and related covariates. One-way ANOVA, LSD, and curvilinear regression analyses were used to analyze the associations that existed between WWI and 20-m SRT.
RESULTS: Comparison of WWI and 20-m SRT scores among Chinese children and adolescents of different ages showed statistically significant differences (F-values of 2179.297 and 4956.795, respectively, p < 0.001). Overall, the 20-m SRT scores of both boys and girls showed a general trend of increasing with age, with a maximum of 48.78 laps and 31.17 laps in the age group of 15-17 years, respectively. The differences in 20-m SRT scores were statistically significant (p < 0.001) when compared between different WWI groups. Both lower and higher WWI resulted in lower 20-m SRT scores, more significantly in boys compared to girls.
CONCLUSION: There is an inverted “U” curve relationship between WWI and 20-m SRT in Chinese children and adolescents aged 6-17 years, and this relationship is reflected in different genders and age groups. In the future, we should ensure that the WWI of children and adolescents is within a reasonable range to better promote cardiopulmonary fitness.
PMID:40331112 | PMC:PMC12052561 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1550741
