Handgrip Strength Is Associated with Standing Long-Jump but Not 20-m Shuttle-Run Performance in Saudi Schoolgirls

Objective: This study examined the associations between aerobic and muscular fitness and evaluated whether handgrip strength (HGS) could serve as a simple indicator of physical fitness, as determined by physical fitness tests, among Saudi girls aged 10 to 14 years. Methods: Four hundred and fifty-seven girls aged 10 to 14 years from elementary and intermediate schools in Buraidah City, Saudi Arabia, were selected to participate in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, body composition, and fat percentage) were assessed. Physical fitness tests included HGS, standing long jump, and a 20-m shuttle run. Results: Absolute HGS was positively and significantly correlated with all study variables, except the 20mSRT. Absolute HGS was positively correlated with age, height, weight, BMI, fat percentage, and SLJ performance, but not with 20mSRT performance. In mixed-effects regression models that accounted for clustering by school, age, BMI, and HGS were not significantly associated with 20mSRT performance. In contrast, HGS was independently and positively associated with SLJ performance (B = 2.23 cm per kg HGS, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.84, p < 0.001), whereas age and BMI were negatively associated with SLJ. Similar findings were observed in analyses stratified by elementary and intermediate school levels, in which HGS remained a significant positive predictor of SLJ but not of 20mSRT performance. Conclusions: HGS was independently associated with SLJ but not with 20mSRT performance. These findings indicate that HGS was independently associated with standing long-jump performance among Saudi schoolgirls.