10
ISSUES: Fitness & Health
Chapter 1: About fitness
Not just child’s play – study provides
benchmark for identifying those at risk
Boys performbetter than girls in speed, limb strength and cardiorespiratory fitness,
whilst girls have the edge in balance and flexibility, according to a landmark study of
European children which hopes to provide useful data in the fight against childhood
obesity and other health issues.
O
ver 10,000 children aged
between six and 11 took part
in the research, which is the
first to provide sex and age-specific
physical reference standards for the
age group in Europe.
The
exercises
included
a
cardiorespiratoryfitness test, a ‘flamingo’
balance test, a handgrip strength test, a
standing long jump, a 40m sprint and a
sit-and-reach test for flexibility.
The
results,
published
in
the
International
Journal
of
Obesity,
found that girls had better balance
and flexibility than boys, whilst
boys performed better in speed
and agility, muscular strength and
cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Overall,
older children performed better than
younger children, except for CRF in
boys and flexibility in girls.
Low fitness levels during childhood
and adolescence are associated
with increased future risk of obesity,
cardiovascular
diseases,
impaired
skeletal health, reduced quality of life
and poor mental health. In spite of
the much publicised benefits of being
physically active, young people’s
performance in fitness tests has
declined over the last three decades.
Dr Luis Gracia-Marco of the Children’s
Health and Exercise Research Centre
within Sport & Health Sciences at the
University of Exeter, one of the study’s
authors, said: “There is a real scarcity
of data on standards of fitness for
children. Our study is the first to
provide standard values of sex and
age-specific fitness for this age group
of children in Europe. These values
may be useful in identifying those
children at higher risk of developing
unfavourable health outcomes owing
to their low fitness level.”
The researchers suggest the data could
be useful for schools, sports clubs and
other organisations to help classify
when a child’s performance could
indicate that there is a risk to their
health in the future. For example, low
scores on CRF and handgrip tests are
associated with cardiovascular issues.
A total of 10,302 children from eight
European countries took part in the study.
11 November 2014
Ö
The above information is reprinted
with kind permission from the
University of Exeter. Please visit
for
further
information.
© University of Exeter 2017
Physical activity levels in children
England
five to 15
(all children)
two to four
five to seven eight to ten 11–12
13–15
%
%
%
%
%
%
Boys
Meeting
recommendations
21
9
24
26
19
14
Some activity
41
6
39
40
38
44
Low activity
39
85
37
34
43
42
Base
643
212
192
175
123
153
Girls
Meeting
recommendations
16
10
23
16
14
8
Some activity
40
7
37
41
44
38
Low activity
45
83
40
43
42
54
Base
651
206
182
190
133
146
Source:
Physical activity statistics 2015
, British Heart Foundation, February 2015
