Trends of cardiovascular risk factors clustering over time: A study in two cohorts of Portuguese adolescents

This study analyzes trends in CVD risk factors and aerobic performance. Two cross-sectional studies were performed including 138 (58 boys and 80 girls) in 1998 and 110 (44 boys and 66 girls) in 2003 adolescents. Although in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) boys performed better than girls, they had lower body mass index (BMI) and total cholesterol (TC) than girls. The data also showed a significant year effect (p = .000) for CRF in both boys and girls. The sex-age group interaction was not significant (p > .05). This cross-sectional study revealed a marked low CRF level over time in both boys and girls.