Abstract

Although current research indicates that the active mode of displacement commuting influences the health of schoolchildren, what is known about the relationship between self-reported physical fitness and its relationship with activecommuting to school(ACS)is known less so. In addition, trends highlight the need to conduct country-specific analyses to understand each context better. The aims of this study were a) to analyze self-reported physical fitness and the ACS, and b) to determine the association between self-reported physical fitness andthe ACSthrough an extensive survey in southern Chile. A cross-sectional analytic design was conducted. The sample consisted of 733 schoolchildren (aged 10 to 16, 46.1% girls) from Chilean public schools. The International Fitness Scale (IFIS) was used to determine the self-reported physical fitness. The ACS was assessed using separate questions about commuting to and from school. The main results showed that the boys presented better self-reported physical fitness than the girls, except in the self-perception of flexibility (p= 0.041). In addition, an association was observed between the ACSand the self-reported flexibility (OR:1.53, p=0.022; OR:1.47, p= 0.036), an association that was maintained when adjusting for sex and age (OR:1.55, p=0.020; OR:1.50, p= 0.030), and self-reported speed and agility was associated only with active commuting from school (OR:1.60, p=0.005), also after adjusted model (OR:1.81, p=0.024). In conclusion,this study provides evidence regarding the relationship between self-reported physical fitness and active ways of ACS. Strategiesthat favor ACS should be soughtto promote health in schoolchildren.