The Extent Of Physical Fitness During The Growth And Development Period - Comparison Of Tracked Physical Fitness At 6 Years Old And 12 Years Old -

Abstract

Currently, efforts to improve the physical fitness of young children are being actively carried out at the nationwide level. However, physical fitness and motor ability of young children has not been sufficiently studied about what has had a degree of influence then. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the gender differences in physical fitness across 6-year-old and 12-year-old age groups. METHODS: The subjects were the same subjects that performed the physical fitness test at 6 years old and 12 years old. We administered physical fitness tests that comprised seven exercises (standing long jump, upright hand standing time, sitting trunk flexion, 25-m run, softball-throw, and side-step and grip strength) to gauge the 6-year-old children’s physical fitness status. For the 12-year-olds, we administered physical fitness tests that comprised eight exercises (standing long jump, upright hand standing time, sitting trunk flexion, 50-m run, softball-throw, side-step and grip strength and shuttle run) to gauge their physical fitness status. We calculated Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient between physical fitness and exercise for each item. RESULTS: Significant correlations were observed for 6-year-old and 12-year-old boys for the following exercises: running ability, throwing power, jumping power, muscular strength, muscular endurance, physical fitness overall (running ability: r = 0.634, throwing power: r = 0.641, jumping power: r = 0.600, muscle strength: r = 0.479, muscular endurance: r = 0.440, overall physical fitness: r = 0.740). For girls, significant correlations were observed for running ability, muscle strength, flexibility, overall physical fitness (running ability: r = 0.496, muscle strength: r = 0.630, flexibility: r = 0.581, overall physical fitness: r = 0.527). Items measuring running ability, muscle strength and overall physical fitness correlated among both boys and girls. There are tracking moderately until 12-years-old for boys’ running ability, throwing power, jumping power, muscle strength, muscle endurance. There are tracking moderately until 12-years-old for girls’ running ability, flexibility, and muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, for both boys and girls, physical fitness level at 6 years of age significantly impacts fitness levels at 12 years of age. This is especially the case for boys who show a high degree of tracking.