Introduction:

Physical inactivity is a behavioral risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases. Body composition and musculoskeletal capacity are component parts of a health-oriented physical condition.

Objective:

Determine the correlation between body composition and musculoskeletal capacity in the study population.

Methods:

A correlational study was conducted of 102 teenage students. Variables were analyzed as measures of central tendency or frequencies, depending on their nature. Student's t-test and Fischer's exact test were used to establish statistically significant differences between continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Pearson's coefficient was estimated to establish a possible correlation in the variables of interest. The significance level was p ≤ 0.05.

Results:

Of the total participants 76.47% do not comply with the recommendations about physical activity for health. 16.66% of the students are overweight / obese and 26.47% have a health-risky fat percentage. 48.08% of the teenagers display healthy resistance strength levels. A negative correlation was determined between fat percentage and explosive strength of the lower body (p = 0.0000) and resistance strength of the upper body (p = 0.0000).

Conclusions:

Most of the students are physically inactive. A bit over one fourth and half the study population have unhealthy fat percentages and upper body resistance strength levels. A negative correlation was established between the fat percentage and the strength levels of participants.

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