Fitness professionals play a crucial role in public health, but their professional education and training needs improvement to meet the expectations of their role and the public health agenda.

The Role of Fitness Professionals in Public Health: A Review of the Literature

Health and fitness professionals can promote physical activity by working across an ecological model, using evidence-based interventions, and fostering activity-friendly communities.

How Health and Fitness Professionals Can Further Advance the Nation's Health by Working Across the Ecological Model

Health-related physical fitness, characterized by ability to perform daily activities with vigor and low risk of hypokinetic diseases, should be the primary focus of physical education programs.

The Evolving Definition of Physical Fitness.

Improving cardiorespiratory fitness, but also muscular fitness and speed/agility, is crucial for overall health and academic performance in children and adolescents.

Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health

A positive association exists between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic performance in youth, but the relationship between muscular strength and flexibility remains uncertain.

Physical fitness and academic performance in youth: A systematic review

Active commuting shows positive effects on various aspects of physical fitness in both young and adult age groups, but more robust investigations are needed to identify potential mediators and confounders.

Active Commuting and Physical Fitness: A Systematic Review

Being unfit is a separate risk factor for heart disease, and forming physical activity recommendations based on fitness studies may potentially downgrade physical fitness as a risk factor and exaggerate the public health benefits of moderate physical activity.

Physical fitness and activity as separate heart disease risk factors: a meta-analysis.

There are 24 field-based physical fitness tests for children and adolescents, with a need for standardization and consensus in this setting to improve health and academic achievement.

Field-Based Health-Related Physical Fitness Tests in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Regular physical activity is crucial for preventing and treating various diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and certain cancers.

Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health: The Current Consensus

Physical fitness is positively associated with mental health in children and adolescents, with potential moderating effects by age, fitness components, and socioeconomic status.

Healthier Minds in Fitter Bodies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association between Physical Fitness and Mental Health in Youth

A weak association exists between physical fitness and BMI in medical students, but the prevalence of overweight and obesity is high.

Physical fitness and its association with anthropometric parameters in medical students

Physical activity improves health and fitness, promoting mental and social well-being, but it needs to be prioritized in the modern era due to advancements in technology and competition.

Physical Activity for Health and Fitness: Past, Present and Future

Higher physical fitness and leisure-time physical activity levels promote certain dimensions of health-related quality of life in Finnish young men, while morbidities impair them all.

Association of physical fitness with health-related quality of life in Finnish young men

Sports participation is positively associated with improved physical fitness, particularly endurance and strength, and making it accessible and spreading awareness about its benefits can lead to more healthy individuals and communities.

The Association Between Sports Participation and Physical Fitness

Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining good health, and this communication suggests a strategy to effectively start a safe exercise regimen for individuals with diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Physical fitness and diabetes.

Fitness specialists' professional activities involve preparing future teachers of physical culture for the introduction of health fitness technologies, addressing the challenges of constant movement and diverse exercise types.

Content and specific features of professional activity of fitness specialists

Exercise improves mood, psychological well-being, and self-concept, but has mixed effects on personality functioning and stress responsivity.

Physical fitness and enhanced psychological health

Professional development using Knowledge in Action Lesson Segments (KIALS) improved teachers' perceptions of teaching health-related fitness knowledge in physical education classes.

Professional Development and Teacher Perceptions of Experiences Teaching Health-Related Fitness Knowledge

Physical fitness is not always healthy, as it can lead to overtraining, addiction, and injuries if not properly controlled.

Physical fitness related to health

Using appropriate fitness measures in youth can advance our understanding of how fitness levels translate into better health outcomes.

Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youth

Physical fitness among health professionals

These studies suggest that health professionals play a crucial role in promoting physical fitness and public health, but their training needs improvement, and a focus on cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness is essential for overall health and academic performance.