Health-related physical fitness and physical activity in elementary school students

Weiyun Chen, Austin Hammond-Bennett, Andrew Hypnar, Steve Mason, Weiyun Chen, Austin Hammond-Bennett, Andrew Hypnar, Steve Mason

Abstract

Background: This study examined associations between students' physical fitness and physical activity (PA), as well as what specific physical fitness components were more significant correlates to being physically active in different settings for boys and girls.

Methods: A total of 265 fifth-grade students with an average age of 11 voluntarily participated in this study. The students' physical fitness was assessed using four FitnessGram tests, including Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER), curl-up, push-up, and trunk lift tests. The students' daily PA was assessed in various settings using a daily PA log for 7 days. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, and multiple R-squared liner regression methods.

Results: Performance on the four physical fitness tests was significantly associated with the PA minutes spent in physical education (PE) class and recess for the total sample and for girls, but not for boys. Performance on the four fitness tests was significantly linked to participation in sports/dances outside school and the total weekly PA minutes for the total sample, boys, and girls. Further, boys and girls who were the most physically fit spent significantly more time engaging in sports/dances and had greater total weekly PA than boys and girls who were not physically fit. In addition, the physically fit girls were more physically active in recess than girls who were not physically fit.

Conclusions: Overall, students' performance on the four physical fitness tests was significantly associated with them being physically active during PE and in recess and engaging in sports/dances, as well as with their total weekly PA minutes, but not with their participation in non-organized physical play outside school.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03015337 , registered date: 1/09/2017, as "retrospectively registered".

Keywords: Healthy fitness zone; Physical activity; Physical fitness.

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This project was approved by the Institutional Review Board-Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Michigan (HUM00088758). Huron Valley Public Schools granted the permission for conducting this study as well. The parent/guardian signed the consent form to grant permission for their child to participate in this project. The students were given the assent form for their approval of participation in this project.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Boys’ mean PA minutes in each PA variable between the two groups
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Girls’ mean PA minutes in each PA variable between the two groups

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