Objective:

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cardiorespiratory fitness and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and body composition in adolescents.

Method:

This is a cross-sectional study with 601 students (14-17 years) of the public school system in the Mid-western state of Santa Catarina. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by the 20-meter back-and-forth test. Information on gender, age and economic status, body weight, height, waist circumference and skinfold thickness were collected. Statistical analysis (Mann-Whitney U, chi-square and logistic regression tests) was performed, with 5% significance level.

Results:

The prevalence of inadequate cardiorespiratory fitness was 61.1%, being higher in boys and in those with inadequate body composition. Inadequate body composition was associated with poor cardiorespiratory fitness even after adjusted by sex, age and economic status.

Conclusion:

It was concluded that most adolescents showed inadequate levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and the association between body composition and inadequate cardiorespiratory fitness is independent of sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents.