Daily physical activity and physical fitness from adolescence to adulthood: A longitudinal study.

The stability of physical fitness and physical activity in Flemish males from 18 to 40 years of age was investigated. In addition, effects of a consistently low-activity or high-activity level during the same age period on physical fitness were studied. The sample consisted of males who were followed longitudinally from age 13 to age 18 years, and were remeasured at the ages of 30, 35, and 40 years. Complete data about physical fitness and physical activity between 13 and 40 years were available for 130 subjects. Stability was measured using Pearson autocorrelations and simplex models. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for repeated measurements was used to look for the effects of activity level on physical fitness. Simplex models showed higher stability coefficients than Pearson correlations, and stability of physical fitness was higher than stability of physical activity. Physical fitness showed the highest stability in flexibility (r = 0.91 between 18 and 30 years, r = 0.96 for both the 30-35 and 35-40 ages intervals), while physical activity showed the highest stability during work (r between 0.70 and 0.98 for the 5-year intervals). Results from MANOVA indicated that for some fitness characteristics the high-active subjects were more fit than their low-active peers. Stability of physical activity was higher than assumed and, therefore, it is a useful and independent indicator for further research. Although possible confounding factors are present (e.g., heredity), a higher level of physical activity during work and leisure time on a regular basis benefits physical fitness considerably. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:487-497, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.