The mediating role of perceived physical literacy in the relationship between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness among Spanish adolescents: the ENERGYCO Study

Background Physical literacy (PL) may help explain the variability in health benefits associated with physical activity (PA) during adolescence. However, evidence examining the mediating role of perceived PL in the relationship between PA and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adolescents is scarce. Objective To examine whether perceived PL mediates the association between PA and indirectly estimated CRF based on a field test in adolescents. Methods Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using baseline data from the ENERGY expenditure of COmmuting to school study (ENERGYCO), which included 273 Spanish adolescents (median: 14.3 years; IQR: 2.1; 46.9% girls in the full sample [ n = 273] and 47.7% girls in the analytical sample [ n = 262]), 262 of whom had complete data for PA and perceived PL. Perceived PL was assessed via the Spanish Physical Literacy Perception Instrument for Adolescents (S-PPLI; Cronbach's α = 0.85). PA was assessed via the Spanish Youth Activity Profile (YAP-S). CRF was assessed via the 20-m shuttle run test and estimated maximum oxygen consumption (VO 2 max). Associations were examined via Spearman correlations and mediation analyses adjusted for sex, years from peak height velocity, body mass index (BMI), and socioeconomic status. Results Mediation analyses showed a significant indirect effect of PA on VO 2 max through perceived PL (indirect effect = 0.61, 95% bias-corrected and accelerated confidence interval (BCa CI: 0.14–1.16), accounting for 54.2% of the total effect. In domain-specific analyses, communication with others (indirect effect = 0.38, 95% BCa CI: 0.05–0.77) and knowledge and understanding (indirect effect = 0.60, 95% BCa CI: 0.17–1.08) significantly mediated the PA–VO 2 max association, whereas no significant mediation was observed for the sense of self and self-confidence domain (indirect effect = 0.27, 95% BCa CI: −0.08 to 0.68). Conclusion Perceived PL mediated the association between PA and CRF in adolescents. These findings support an indirect pathway linking PA to aerobic fitness through perceived PL, although causal inferences cannot be drawn because of the cross-sectional design.