Associations between physical fitness, body composition, and health-related quality of life among inactive university students

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic worsened physical inactivity and unhealthy habits among university students, yet evidence on physically inactive populations in Latin America remains scarce. Objective: To examine associations between physical fitness, body composition, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in physically inactive Chilean university students in the post-pandemic period. Methods: Cross-sectional study including 139 physically inactive students (mean age = 22.5 ± 3.1 years). Physical fitness comprised cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), handgrip strength, standing long jump (SLJ), and agility, assessed with the ALPHA-Fitness battery. Body composition was evaluated using body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio, and neck circumference. HRQoL was measured with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), including physical functioning, role physical, general health, social functioning, and role emotional. Associations were analyzed using multiple linear regressions. Results: Higher CRF was associated with better physical functioning (B = 0.372; p < 0.001), general health (β = 0.349; p < 0.001), and social functioning (β = 0.244; p = 0.031). SLJ was positively related to physical functioning (β = 0.386; p = 0.001), as was agility (β = 0.215; p = 0.028). BMI showed inverse associations with physical functioning (β = −0.171; p = 0.045), general health (β = −0.168; p = 0.042), and social functioning (β = −0.218; p = 0.013). Neck circumference was negatively associated with social functioning (β = −0.289; p = 0.024). Conclusions: Higher CRF, SLJ performance, and agility were linked to better HRQoL domains, whereas higher BMI and neck circumference predicted poorer outcomes. These results highlight the importance of structured physical activity programs in universities to improve student health and well-being in the post-pandemic context.