Estado nutricional, nível de atividade física e aptidão física relacionada à saúde de estudantes do ensino fundamental de uma escola particular de Porto Alegre

Introduction: The rise of overweight children and adolescents, low levels of physical activity and health-related physical fitness has become a concern for health entities and the school environment. Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status, the level of physical activity and health-related physical fitness of students in the final years of elementary school. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 173 male and female students at a private school in Porto Alegre. BMI (body mass index), WHtR (waist-to-height ratio) and% BF (percentage of fat), physical activity level, extracurricular sport activity, health-related physical fitness was evaluated. For data analysis, descriptive statistics was used and for inferential analysis, the independent t test, chi-square test, covariance analysis, Pearson's r test were used, with a significance level of p <0.05. Results: In BMI and WHtR most students were classified in the “Healthy Zone” and% CG “Not High”. When analyzing the level of physical activity, the number of “Assets” was higher (79.2%). In cardiorespiratory fitness, 79.7% of girls are in the “Health Risk Zone”. Boys who practice extracurricular sports showed better levels of cardiorespiratory fitness. The girls perform better on the flexibility test. Conclusion: Boys are more “active” than girls, have better levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and greater abdominal endurance, while girls have excelled in flexibility. Still, 30% of the students were overweight.