Abstract
The National Curriculum for Physical Education (PE) in England, for children aged 5–16 years, has a dear commitment to knowledge and understanding of health and fitness. The Multistage Fitness Test (MFT) is used in many PE programmes to predict aerobic fitness (peak VO2), yet concern exists that this test fails to predict accurately children's peak VO2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the MFT to predict children's peak VO2. The peak VO2 of 36 children (n= 19 girls, n= 17 boys) was directly determined in the laboratory. Directly determined peak VO2 of bom sexes was similar to predicted peak VO2 using child specific equations. Adult specific prediction equations under‐predicted actual peak VO2 by 31% (girls) and 38% (boys). In conclusion, schools should use child specific and not the adult specific equations supplied with the MFT. Further, the MFT may have a role as a novel educational tool to increase understanding of the complex relationship between fitness, physical activity and health.
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