Influence of exercise habits and physical fitness level on subjective fatigue symptoms in adolescent students

This study aimed to examine the influence of exercise habits and physical fitness level on subjective fatigue symptoms (SFS) in adolescent students. Four hundred and one healthy young male adults (age: 16.5 +/1.2 yr) participated in the physical fitness test of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan and responded to the questionnaire on exercise habits and SFS. SFS questionnaire was conducted 6 times with a week interval during the physical fitness test. SFS was compared among groups with different physical fitness levels and exercise habit. Significant differences were found in difficulty with concentrated thinking, languor and low vigor, with the high physical fitness group having lower values of the three fatigue factors than the low physical fitness group regardless of affiliation with sports club and gyms, exercise frequency and time. SFS is largely affected by physical fitness level but very little by exercise habits.