Assessment of Physical Fitness among Taiwanese Adolescents: A Cohort Study from 1997 to 2013

Abstract

The performance of physical fitness is seen as an important indicator of the contemporary adolescent health. In order to enhance physical fitness of adolescents, Taiwan government has promoted many systemic policies since 1994. The purpose of this study was to explore the policy context of physical fitness from 1994 to 2013, and to assess the physical fitness performance of adolescents aged 10 to 18 years from 1997, 2003, 2008 and 2013 generations. In this study, systematic review was used for analyzing policy, while cohort study was designed to determine the overall development of physical fitness. The data of physical fitness performance, including body mass index (BMI), sit-and-reach, bent-leg curl-ups, standing long jump and 800/1,600-M run were recorded. The main results: (1) The process of physical fitness promotion in Taiwan has been categorized into four successive periods, such as preparatory period (1994 ~ 1998), growth period (1999 ~ 2003), bloom period (2004 ~ 2012), and mature period (2013 ~). (2) From 1997 to 2013, the BMI of boys and girls was slightly changed. The muscular fitness reported to be progressive, but decline in cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility and explosive muscular power overtime has been noticed. In conclusion, the development trends of physical fitness parameters were different, and the relationship among parameters was inconsistent. Furthermore, the implementation of physical fitness test collected important data from generations of adolescents in Taiwan. This study suggests that implementation of physical fitness policies could keep on upgrading based on those achievements.