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Disparities in physical fitness of 6-11-year-old children: the 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Children's physical fitness is an important predictor of metabolic health, physical function, and academic achievement. Although fitness is determined partially by heritable factors, it can be maintained and improved through regular physical activity. Because physical activity is known to vary by socioeconomic status, physical fitness may be expected to vary similarly. With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to examine disparities in physical fitness performance among a nationally-representative sample of 6-11?year-old children living in the United States. METHODS:We conducted secondary analysis of physical fitness data of children ages 6-11?years (n?=?686) from the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) 2012. We estimated sex-stratified weighted means of four fitness performance tests: cardiorespiratory endurance, upper-, lower-, and core-muscular strength. The weighted mean for each fitness assessment was compared by income groups (federal income to poverty ratio - FIPR) accounting for complex sampling design and adjusting for age. RESULTS:Income disparities in physical fitness performance were evident among girls but not among boys. Girls from lower income groups (

SUBMITTER: Guseman EH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7501606 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Disparities in physical fitness of 6-11-year-old children: the 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

Guseman E H EH Tanda R R Haile Z T ZT

BMC public health 20200918 1

<h4>Background</h4>Children's physical fitness is an important predictor of metabolic health, physical function, and academic achievement. Although fitness is determined partially by heritable factors, it can be maintained and improved through regular physical activity. Because physical activity is known to vary by socioeconomic status, physical fitness may be expected to vary similarly. With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to examine disparities in physical fitness performance among ...[more]

PMID: 32948156

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Project description:BackgroundChildren's current physical activity levels are disturbingly low when compared to recommended levels. This may be changed by intervening in the school environment. However, at present, it is unclear to what extent schoolyard physical activity contributes towards reaching the daily physical activity guideline. The aim of this study was to examine how long and at what intensity children are physically active at the schoolyard during different time segments of the day. Moreover, the contribution of schoolyard physical activity towards achieving the recommended guideline for daily physical activity was investigated.MethodsChildren (n=76) between the age of 6-11 years were recruited in six different schools in five cities (>70.000 residents) in the Netherlands. During the weekdays of a regular school week, childrens' physical activity and location were measured with ActiGraph accelerometers and Travelrecorder GPS receivers. Data was collected from December 2008 to April 2009. From the data, the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on and outside the schoolyard was established. Moreover, the percentage of MVPA on the schoolyard was compared between the following segments of the day: pre-school, school, school recess, lunch break and post-school. Differences between boys and girls were compared using linear and logistic mixed-effects models.ResultsOn average, children spent 40.1 minutes/day on the schoolyard. During this time, boys were more active on the schoolyard, with 27.3% of their time spent as MVPA compared to 16.7% among girls (OR=2.11 [95% CI 1.54 - 2.90]). The children were most active on the schoolyard during school recess, during which boys recorded 39.5% and girls recorded 23.4% of the time as MVPA (OR=2.55 [95% CI: 1.69 - 3.85]). Although children were only present at the schoolyard for 6.1% of the total reported time, this time contributed towards 17.5% and 16.8% of boys' and girls' minutes of MVPA.ConclusionsOn the schoolyard, children's physical activity levels are higher than on average over the whole day. Physical activity levels are particularly high during school recess. The school environment seems to be an important setting for improving children's physical activity levels. Further research on the facilitators of these high activity levels may provide targets for further promotion of physical activity among children.

Dataset Information

Disparities in physical fitness of 6-11-year-old children: the 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

Publications

Disparities in physical fitness of 6-11-year-old children: the 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

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