Is physical fitness associated with the type of attended school? A cross-sectional analysis among 20.000 adolescents

While academic achievement has been associated with physical activity, the present work questions the potential association between the physical fitness level of adolescents and the type of school they attend, ranging from academic to technical schools. 20,228 young French students from 76 schools (9,196 females), mean age 15.8±1.8 years, performed the Diagnoform© test. This dataset includes two higher education institutions (n=870), 37 general high schools (n=13,125), 18 professional-oriented high schools (n=3,569), 5 agricultural high schools (n=132), 2 vocational training centers (n=202) and 12 rural vocational training centers (n=1,137). In higher education institutions and general high schools, girls showed better performances for all physical tests. A decreasing Quotient of overall Physical fitness Condition (QPC) was observed for both genders from urban higher education schools to rural and technical institutions (p