Southern Italian teenagers: the older they get, the unfit they become with girls worse than boys: a cohort epidemiological study: The adolescents surveillance system for the obesity prevention project (ASSO).

Italy comprises a high proportion of people who never exercised. Low physical activity levels in adolescents is a risk factor for several disorders. The aim of this cohort epidemiological study was to compare physical fitness profiles between boys and girls with regard to age and gender and to identify health and fitness-related markers that contribute to the make-up of Southern Italian teenagers.