Objective:

To determine healthy physical condition variables predictive of depressive symptomatology in young university students.

Method:

This study presents a cross-sectional descriptive observational design with a multivariate phase, which used the self-administered BECK questionnaire (BDI-2) to assess depressive symptomatology in a sample of 344 university students between 18 and 39 years of age, enrolled in four different universities in the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Health-related physical fitness was assessed from the Alpha Fit Adult battery; with the correlational analyses, a binary logistic regression model was constructed to determine which physical fitness variables are associated with depressive symptomatology in this type of population.

Results:

Inverse and statistically significant correlations were observed between the Beck Depression Inventory-II depression score with aerobic fitness indicator r =0,202, p=0,000; mean prehensile strength r =0,113, p=0,036; high jump r =0,177, p=0,000; push-up r =0,158, p=0,003; and figure-8 test r =0,146, p=0,006). University students with higher levels of depressive symptomatology presented a lower physical fitness phenotype, mainly in the cardiorespiratory endurance indicator (β=-0,059; p<0,004 Exp (B) 0,942).

Conclusion:

The results obtained in the present study show that a phenotype associated with lower cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology.

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