Is Standing Long Jump Performance More Strongly Associated with Health-Related Outcomes than Maximal Isometric...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health and Fitness Assessment
• Sports Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Muscular fitness is crucial for adolescent health.
• Existing comparisons of fitness tests lack consistency regarding health outcomes.
• Identifying reliable fitness markers is essential for adolescent well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the association of standing long jump (SLJ) performance with health-related outcomes against maximal isometric handgrip strength (MIHS) in Chilean adolescents.
• To determine which muscular fitness test is a more consistent predictor of adolescent health.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 113 adolescents (mean age 15.90 ± 1.77).
• Assessed muscular fitness using SLJ and MIHS.
• Evaluated health outcomes including BMI, physical activity, aerobic capacity, sprint, flexibility, sleep quality, and psychological well-being.
• Utilized Pearson correlations and adjusted multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• SLJ showed moderate-to-strong associations with physical activity, aerobic capacity, sprint performance, and BMI.
• Maximal isometric handgrip strength (MIHS) demonstrated weaker and less consistent associations with health outcomes.
• SLJ remained a significant predictor in regression models, while MIHS offered limited additional explanatory value.

Conclusions:

• The standing long jump (SLJ) is a more sensitive and consistent indicator of adolescent health-related outcomes than MIHS.
• SLJ is a practical, low-cost, and easily implementable tool for health and fitness screening in schools and communities.