Physical Fitness in Upper Austrian Children Living in Urban and Rural Areas: A Cross-Sectional Analysis with More Than 18,000 Children.

Clemens Drenowatz,Klaus Greier,Franz Hinterkörner

doi:10.3390/ijerph17031045

Abstract

Physical fitness is an important component in the development and health of children and adolescents. Given the equivocal results of previous research regarding the influence of the living environment on physical fitness, this study examined differences in physical fitness in urban and rural elementary school children in Upper Austria. A total of 18,168 (51% male) children between 6 and 11 years of age participated in anthropometric assessments and completed eight fitness tests that assessed cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular power, speed, agility, flexibility, and ball handling skills during a single test session in the school’s gymnasium. Urban living environment was associated with higher body weight (p = 0.01) and lower physical fitness (p < 0.01), except for flexibility, which was better in urban children (p < 0.01) and upper body strength (no difference), even after accounting for differences in body weight. Furthermore, it was shown that urban–rural differences in physical fitness are more pronounced in normal weight children and that these differences increase with age. These results highlight the potential of the living environment for the promotion of an active lifestyle that enhances physical fitness. The availability of safe spaces that facilitate unstructured and structured physical activity, as well as active transportation provide viable options for the promotion of physical fitness in children.

Highlights

Over the last several decades, there has been a trend towards an increased concentration of the population in cities, which is referred to as urbanization [1,2]
This study extends previous research on the association between living environment and health by examining urban–rural differences in various components of physical fitness in Upper Austrian elementary school children
The results of this study showed a lower BMI percentiles (BMIPCT) and higher physical fitness in rural elementary school children as compared with their urban peers, except for flexibility, which was better in urban children, and medicine ball push in which no urban–rural differences were observed

Summary

Introduction

Over the last several decades, there has been a trend towards an increased concentration of the population in cities, which is referred to as urbanization [1,2]. This change in residential pattern reflects an economic transition towards a service-based economy, which influences biological development and behavioral choices of human beings. Research has indicated differences in behavioral choices such as eating habits and physical activity (PA) between urban and rural residents [5,6,7,8,9]. An increase in inactive habits, such as reading, playing computer games, and watching TV is associated with a reduction in time spent outdoors [10,13], which

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Conclusion