## 4 Discussion
As other studies suggest, adolescents often fail to fully comprehend the lifelong impact of maintaining good health [49]. They frequently associate being healthy with having a slim body. However, the findings of our study, which indicate higher fitness levels among adolescents who participate in additional after-school activities, suggest that this group is more aware of the importance of PA for general well-being. The self-assessment of technical and tactical sports skills and potential differences between boys and girls was another research issue. The data show that boys assessed their technical and tactical skills in football significantly higher, whereas girls scored higher in technical skills in gymnastics. Boys generally tend to rate their abilities higher across all sports [50], a trend also observed in our study. Societal beliefs still strongly influence perceptions of sports suitability for each gender [51]. Football and other team sports are predominantly viewed as \"boys' sports\", which likely explains their popularity among boys, who often start training at a very young age, even during their leisure time. Stereotypes further perpetuate the notion that activities like dance or gymnastic might \"make\" boys appear less masculine, as suggested by [PERSON] in 2008 [52]. This cultural bias may be one reason why boys are less inclined to participate in gymnastics, leading to lower self-assessment scores in this discipline in our study. These findings align with the research of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [53], which demonstrated that boys are primarily interested in ball-based team games, much more so than girls. Similarly, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [46] found that boys outnumber girls in competitive, team-orientated, and high-intensity sports and exercises (e.g., football, baseball, basketball, handball, bicycling, and weightlifting), while girls prefer individual activities such as dancing, walking, and fitness. This study examines differences in the average assessment of technical and tactical skills between boys and girls regarding additional sports activities after school. The data shows a significant difference in technical skills for both genders, favouring the groups participating in additional PA during their leisure time. Among boys with additional after-school sports, higher results were observed compared to those with no additional PA. In general, a physically active lifestyle may improve self-esteem, aligning with the findings of research conducted on college students by [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [50]. It is well-established that practice improves skills. The significantly higher tactical skills observed in the group of active boys are probably the result of more frequent participation in team sports, where tactical skills are crucial [50]. Since girls participate in competitive team sports less frequently, such differences did not emerge in their results. In addition, our study compared the self-assessment of overall fitness between boys and girls regarding additional sports activities. The data shows that participants from the group with additional sports activities scored higher on the assessment scale than those from the group with no additional PA, regardless of gender. This difference reinforces the conclusion that active adolescents assess their fitness more highly and, perhaps, when feeling fitter, they are more open to being physically active [54]. These findings are consistent with research, indicating that even among individuals with obesity, those who are physically active demonstrate higher estimated VO\({}_{2}\)max values compared to their inactive counterparts [55]. This study has some strengths and limitations. A primary limitation is its cross-sectional design, which restricts the ability to draw causal conclusions from the observed associations. Another important limitation is the reliance on self-reported data, which introduces the risk of response bias. Adolescents may either consciously or unconsciously overestimate or underestimate their motivations and fitness.