Relative Age Effect in Physical Fitness of South Portugal Students Between 10 and 18 Years Old

Relative age is a phenomenon broadly studied in sport sciences. Youth sports participants born earlier in the selection year tend to present a maturational advantage over their peers. As it is also dependent on physical performance, older physical education students may also benefit from this effect in this school subject. The main goal of this manuscript was to determine whether the relative age effect is present within physical fitness outcomes of Portuguese children and adolescents. The physical-aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility and body composition of 885 students (490 females and 395 males) were collected and compared by quarters of birth, segmented by gender and age groups (10-12; 12-14; 14-16 and 16-18 years). The results reveal a moderate to small effect in physical fitness outcomes, with a trend for children and adolescents born in the early part of the year to present higher performance levels. These differences were more evident in ages closer to the physical maturational onset (12-14 y) and more apparent in male students. This physical fitness advantage may lead to a biased assessment and development of students born earlier in the year.