Urban School Children's Health-related Physical Fitness and Physical Activity Participation

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 891-892
Author(s):  
You Fu ◽  
Zan Gao
Author(s):  
Donatus Udochukwu Chukwudo

This chapter discussed the importance of physical fitness concerning adult learners' readiness to participate meaningfully in academia. Despite the importance of health-related physical fitness, not many adults seem to have given the issue (physical fitness) the needed attention. The chapter focused on the issues associated with a reduced level of physical activity participation, and the changing modes of transportation, and how the issues could interfere with learning if not addressed — suggestions on how to improve physical fitness while learning constitutes parts of the discussion.


Author(s):  
Donatus Udochukwu Chukwudo

This chapter discussed the importance of physical fitness concerning adult learners' readiness to participate meaningfully in academia. Despite the importance of health-related physical fitness, not many adults seem to have given the issue (physical fitness) the needed attention. The chapter focused on the issues associated with a reduced level of physical activity participation, and the changing modes of transportation, and how the issues could interfere with learning if not addressed — suggestions on how to improve physical fitness while learning constitutes parts of the discussion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Xun Li ◽  
Shi-Ting Xiang ◽  
Jie Dong ◽  
Yan Zhong ◽  
Sha Zhao ◽  
...  

Physical activity participation in children declines with age. It is not clear yet whether the age-related trends vary by weight status. This study is aimed at investigating the association between physical activity participation and age among children with healthy weight, overweight, or obesity, using data from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Physical activity participation was evaluated by days participated in physical activity for at least 60 minutes out of 7 days. Weight status was categorized from body mass index (BMI) percentiles. Data were analyzed on 33,056 US children age 10-17 years. The percentages of been active 0 day out of 7 days in BMI5th<85th (healthy weight), 85th<95th (overweight), and ≥95th percentile (obese) groups were 8.9%, 11.5%, and 18.2%, respectively. Among all groups, been active 0 day out of 7 days was positively associated with age, while the strongest associations were observed in the BMI85th<95th group (age 17 years vs. age 10 years: OR=7.48, p<0.0001). Older age was significantly associated with been active less than 4 days out of 7 days in the BMI5th<85th and 85th<95th groups, but those associations were attenuated in the BMI≥95th group. This study found that physical activity participation was inversely associated with age among children with healthy weight, overweight, or obese, and the association was strongest among children with overweight and weakest among children with obesity. Interventions aimed at promoting physical activity among children should take these patterns of association into account.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dehong Yang ◽  
Xihe Zhu ◽  
Justin A. Haegele ◽  
Patrick B. Wilson ◽  
Xueping Wu

Physically active students are more likely to be fit and learn better in school than sedentary ones. For school-aged children, it is unclear whether physical fitness level is an important determinant for student’s activity afterschool. This study examined the association between health-related physical fitness test performance and afterschool physical activity during weekdays. Participants (n = 97, 11–13 years old) completed health-related fitness tests. They wore Actigraph GT3X accelerometers for five consecutive days, recording physical activity participation during after school hours. Descriptive statistics for both afterschool physical activity and health-related fitness were summarized. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between variables. Participants spent most of their afterschool hours participating in sedentary behaviors (274.27 ± 66.89 min) and light physical activity (73.68 ± 51.66 min), and only 11.35 ± 16.92 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), accumulating approximately 2058.52 ± 1690.56 steps each day afterschool. The regression model explained 22.8% of the variance in afterschool MVPA, and Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) scores were the only statistically significant predictor (β = 0.47, p < 0.01). Fit students do tend to exercise more after school. Promoting physical fitness in school is an important factor for students’ afterschool physical activity participation during weekdays.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1333-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungwon Min ◽  
Zhengqi Tan ◽  
Laurie Abadie ◽  
Scott Townsend ◽  
Hong Xue ◽  
...  

Purpose: To examine the effects of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mission-X: Train Like an Astronaut program (MX) on children’s health-related knowledge and behaviors of a sample of US participants. Design: A nonexperimental pilot intervention study in 5 cities with a pre–post comparison of children’s health-related knowledge and behaviors in the United States in 2014 and 2015. Sample: Children (n = 409) with a mean age (standard deviation) of 10.1 (1.7) years. Measures: Children answered pre- and postintervention questionnaires. We measured the differences in children’s health knowledge on nutrition and physical fitness and behaviors on diet and physical activity as scores. Intervention: A 6-week web- and school-based intervention for a healthier lifestyle by introducing physical fitness and science activities based on actual astronaut training under a teacher’s supervision. Analysis: Nonparametric analysis and logistic regression models. Results: Participants significantly improved both of their health behaviors on physical activity ( P < .001) and diet ( P = .06) and their health knowledge regarding nutrition ( P < .001) and physical fitness ( P < .001) after the intervention. The improvement in children’s behaviors ( P < .001), knowledge ( P < .001), and the total score ( P < .001) after intervention did not significantly vary by sex or age, after adjusting for year of participation and state of residency. Discussion: The MX seems effective in improving health behaviors and health knowledge of participating children, which may serve as a model for sustainable global child health promotion program. Further research is needed to test its long-term effects on child health.


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