Abstract
Introduction: To examine the geographical variation in change in the levels of physical fitness from 2005 to 2014 among Chinese children and adolescents.Methods: A total of 663,813 children 7 to 18 years of age with physical fitness data in 2005, 2010 and 2014, participated in the study. Physical fitness was assessed using six components, and their standardized scores were aggregated to form a summary physical fitness indicator (PFI).Results: Over the study period, there was an increase in the proportion of high PFI (from 15.3% in 2005 to 19.0% in 2014, Ptrend < 0.05) and a decrease in the proportion of low PFI (from 30.6 to 29.8%, Ptrend < 0.05). Children and adolescents in the eastern provinces of China showed a high proportion of high PFI with an increasing trend over time, while those in the western provinces had a high proportion of low PFI with a decreasing trend over time (P < 0.05).Conclusions: The comprehensive physical fitness among Chinese children showed an improved trend from 2005 to 2014. Region-specific interventions with priority policies could be useful to sustainably narrow geographical variation in Chinese children, especially in the western provinces.
Highlights
To examine the geographical variation in change in the levels of physical fitness from 2005 to 2014 among Chinese children and adolescents
As indexed by physical fitness indicator (PFI), improved with an increased proportion of children and adolescents who performed at above middle-high levels of PFI (Ptrend < 0.05), and a decreased proportion of those who scored below low-middle levels of PFI (Ptrend < 0.05)
Boys and girls showed a similar increasing trend in the proportion of their physical fitness from 2005 to 2014 with both girls and boys showing a significant increase in the proportion of high levels of PFI (13.5% in 2005 to 19.8% in 2014, Ptrend < 0.05) for girls, 17.1% in 2005 to 18.2% in 2014, Ptrend < 0.05 for boys, respectively)
Summary
To examine the geographical variation in change in the levels of physical fitness from 2005 to 2014 among Chinese children and adolescents. Previous studies have physical fitness was associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in both children and adults [4,5,6]. Previous study found that the physical fitness among children and adolescents has been a world-wide decline since the late 1950s, especially in the maximal long-distance running performance of Asian children and adolescents, including China [10]. One study using a national study in Chinese children and adolescents demonstrated that China has followed global trends in exhibiting a steadily deterioration in the levels of physical fitness, in the domain of cardiorespiratory fitness [11,12,13]
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