Effect of living area and sports club participation on physical fitness in children: a 4 year longitudinal study

BMC Public Health

Thomas Muehlbauer²  Ditmar Wick¹  Martin Hoffmann²  Urs Granacher²  Kathleen Golle² 

[1] University of Applied Science in Sport and Management, Potsdam, Germany;Division of Training and Movement Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, House 12, D-14469, Potsdam, Germany

关键词: Maturation;    Primary school;    Youth;    Motor performance;   

Others  :  1130358
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-14-499

 received in 2014-02-04, accepted in 2014-05-14,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Cross-sectional studies detected associations between physical fitness, living area, and sports participation in children. Yet, their scientific value is limited because the identification of cause-and-effect relationships is not possible. In a longitudinal approach, we examined the effects of living area and sports club participation on physical fitness development in primary school children from classes 3 to 6.

Methods

One-hundred and seventy-two children (age: 9–12 years; sex: 69 girls, 103 boys) were tested for their physical fitness (i.e., endurance [9-min run], speed [50-m sprint], lower- [triple hop] and upper-extremity muscle strength [1-kg ball push], flexibility [stand-and-reach], and coordination [star coordination run]). Living area (i.e., urban or rural) and sports club participation were assessed using parent questionnaire.

Results

Over the 4 year study period, urban compared to rural children showed significantly better performance development for upper- (p = 0.009, ES = 0.16) and lower-extremity strength (p < 0.001, ES = 0.22). Further, significantly better performance development were found for endurance (p = 0.08, ES = 0.19) and lower-extremity strength (p = 0.024, ES = 0.23) for children continuously participating in sports clubs compared to their non-participating peers.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that sport club programs with appealing arrangements appear to represent a good means to promote physical fitness in children living in rural areas.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Golle et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

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