Evaluation of physical fitness in 11 years old students in Northern Italy: a powerful tool to improve physical education curricula

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the physical fitness (PF) in 11 years old students of 7 schools in Brescia. The aim was to provide functional data useful for motor activity promotion by physical education (PE) teaching in middle-lower school. Methods: To assess the four main components of the PF we measured: (1) anthropometric data, i.e. height (m), weight (kg) to calculate BMI (kg/m2); (2) aerobic fitness through the six minutes walking test (6MWT); (3) muscular fitness through the standing broad jump test (SBJT); (4) joint flexibility from the V-Sit and reach test (VSR). Statistical analysis was performed by 2-way ANOVA. Results: 349 children were tested, 257 Italian (I) and 74 Not-Italian (NI); I: 127 males (M) and 130 females (F); NI: 41 M and 33 F. NI children belonged to different ethnic groups. BMI I-M (19.3 +- 3.3) I-F (19.5 +- 3.7) NI-M (20.7 +- 3.6) NI-F (19.9 +- 4.5) 6MWT I-M (720 +- 59) I-F (697 +- 54) NI-M (704 +- 75) NI-F (683 +- 52) SBJT I-M (154 +- 22) I-F (144 +- 21) NI-M (145 +- 24) NI-F (137 +- 21) VSR I-M (- 7 +- 7) I-F (4 +-10) NI-M (- 5 +- 8) NI-F (- 1 +- 10) Statistical differences between groups. BMI I vs NI; M-I vs M-NI; SBJT I vs NI; M(I + NI) vs F(I + NI); M-I vs F-I; VSR M(I + NI) vs F(I + NI); M(I) vs F(I) Conclusions: I group data. BMI mean value of both M and F is close to the 50th percentile according to a previous study concerning North of Italy children. Nonetheless, 15% of M and 11% of F have to be considered overweight [1]. 6MWT and SBJT mean results are even better than those reported for other age-matched European children [2, 3]. VSR data are strongly influenced by gender. M show marked negative results, while F show good flexibility. This difference should be considered in PE curriculum. NI group data. Only two of the PF descriptors are different compared to I data, being BMI and SBJT value higher and lower, respectively, than those of I counterpart. Generally, the resulting overall PF of the investigated students is in line with the literature data. The level of PF can be considered adequate, making this population able to follow PE curriculum aimed to include physical activity in daily life as a tool to discourage its abandon in adulthood. References Cacciari E et al (2002) Eur J Clin Nutr 56:171–180 Ulrich S et al (2013) BMC Pulm Med 13:49–60 Ortega FB et al (2011) Br J Sports Med 45:20–29