Perceptualand Motor Skills, 1992, 75, 819-826. O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1992
HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS LEVELS O F ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN AGES 5-9 I t * . ' HOLLY R. LEHNHARD, ROBERT A. LEHNHAK D, STEPHEN A. BUTTERFIELD, DONNA M. BECKWITH, AND SCOTT F. MARION College of Education Health, Physical Education and Recreation University of Maine Summary.-National health goals include an increase in the physical activity and physical fitness of school-age children by the year 2000. To assess current fitness levels in the state of Maine, more than 8,000 public school students, ages five through nine, were assessed using a nationally known (American Alliance for Heal&, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) health-related physical fitness test. Maine students were then compared with a national norm group on (1) the one-mile waUc/run (rninutes:seconds), ( 2 ) skinfold thickness (centimeters), (3) one-minute timed sit-ups (number performed correctly), and (4) the sit and reach test for flexibility (centimeters). Generally, Maine boys and girls scored higher than the norms on the sit-up, sit and reach, and one-mile walklrun; however, they had significantly larger skinfold thicknesses. Implications for assessment of health-related fitness in t h ~ sage group were discussed.
To help establish baseline data for health-related fitness levels for Maine children, approximately 8,000 children ages 6 to 9 years were assessed using the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test. This paper reports the results of the assessments and compares them to a national sample of similarly aged children. There is a great deal of public concern regarding the physical fitness and health status of American youth. In fact, among 226 national health objectives identified by the Department of Health and Human Services to be achieved by 1990, eleven were related directly to physical fitness and exercise (Gilbert, Montes, & Ross, 1985); however, it was estimated that, of the total number of 1990 objectives, approximately one-quarter were unlikely to be met, including those in the areas of nutrition, physical fitness, and exercise (McGinnis, Kanner, & DeGraw, 1991). 'The authors express sincere a preciation to those physical educators who participated in this study. Their time and effort levoted to the Maine School Children Physical Fitness Project were invaluable, their dedication to our children's health unswerving. Without their assistance :his project could not be realized. This ~rojectwas funded in part by The University of Maine Faculty Research Fund, The Maine f i a n c e for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Eastern District of the American AUiance for Health. Phvsical Education. Recreation and Dance. Address correspondence to H . R. Lehnhard, P ~ . D . ,toliege of t ducat ion, Health, Physical Education and w t i o n , Lenggel Hall, Orono, ME 04469. Donna M. Beckwith is now Head Exercise Physiologist at The Bay Club in Portland, Maine and Scott F. Marion, a research associate for the Center for Educational Research in the College of Education. -
-
-
~-
~
820
H.R. LEHNHARD, E T A L
Another report initiated by the US Public Health Service, Healthy People 2000, describes health objectives for the nation for the year 2000 (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1991). Goals in the document are outlined in five major categories, (1) Health Promotion, (2) Health Protection, (3) Preventive Services, (4) Surveillance and Data Systems, and (5) Age-related Objectives (U.S. Public Health Service, 1991). Of particular importance to children and adolescents are the objectives in the areas of physical activity and fitness detailed in the Health Promotion category. These include educational and community-based programs which challenge the nation to increase children's health status, decrease risk of cardiovascular disease (e.g., reduce the prevalence of the overweight and increase cardiorespiratory fitness, respectively), and improve health services. Concomitant with this public health view of children's fitness there have been fundamental changes in what experts believe constitutes physical fitness. The advent of several health-related fitness tests, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test (AAHPERD, 1980, 1984), Fit Youth Today, Fitness Gram (Safrit, 1990), and the National Child Youth Fitness Survey (Ross & Gilbert, 1985; Ross & Pate, 1987; Safrit, 1990), has shifted emphasis away from measures of athletic performance such as speed, power, and agility to parameters which address functional health. These include cardiovascular efficiency, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Ancillary to individual health, Healthy People 2000 suggests that state and local surveillance systems be developed and implemented to monitor and track progress towards the stated objectives. To meet challenges outlined by the PubIic Health Service, comprehensive data collection is necessary to establish baseline information needed for subsequent program development. The purpose of the research reported here was to assess the health-related physical fitness levels of children ages 5 to 9 years in the state of Maine. These data helped to establish the baseline health-related fitness of the state's youth.
METHOD Each elementary physical educator (n = 228) in the state of Maine was contacted by mail and asked to participate in a statewide assessment effort. Fifty-four elementary physical educators representing 15 of the 16 counties in the state of Maine volunteered to participate. Each educator attended and successfully completed an in-service training program at the University of Maine. The program included information documenting the role of lifetime fitness in an individual's total health profile, as well as theoretical information and appropriate techniques for assessing lifetime fitness. All the teachers were trained in the proper administration procedures for the American ALance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test (AAHPERD, 1980), a nationally distributed test bat-
HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
821
tery. The four parameters of this test included the one-mile walklrun as a measure for cardiovascular fitness, timed (one minute) modified sit-ups as a measure for abdominal muscular strength and endurance, the sit and reach measure for low back and hamstring flexibility, and tricep and subscapula skinfold measures to assess body composition. A detailed description of each test item has been previously reported (AAHPERD, 1984). Recently, Safrit (1990) summarized findings of validity and reliability for each test item, noting the lack of sufficient information on young children and the need for further test development. During September and October 1989, in their respective schools, data were collected on over 8,000 students (4,135 boys and 4,281 girls) ages 5 through 9 years. Scores were then sent to the University of Maine for data entry and statistical analysis, performed using the SPSS package (SPSS, 1991; Rosner, 1982).
Analysis The mean values for both a Maine and national sample of students were compared for each test (sorted by age and sex) in two ways; (a) t ratios were calculated to assess whether the mean differences were statistically significant (a = .05) and (b) effect sizes were calculated to describe the mean differences in relationship to the actual distribution of scores. Tests of statistical significance with large data sets are not always very informative because results are often significant simply because the sample is so large. For instance, 16 of the 24 comparisons in this analysis produced statisticaly significant t ratios. Therefore, we also calculated effect sizes by subtracting the mean score for the national sample from the mean score for the Maine sample and then dividing by the pooled standard deviation (Glass, McGraw, & Smith, 1981; Hedges & Ollun, 1985). Thls procedure yields a standardized mean difference. The effect size is represented by d and, in this study, a positive d indicates a mean difference favoring Maine children. Expressed in standard deviation units, effects of .20 are considered small, .50 are considered moderate, and .80 or greater are considered large (Cohen, 1977). RESULTS Mean scores for the physical fitness parameters appear in Tables 1 and 2. A summary of each test item follows. Sit-ups Maine 6-yr.-old boys completed significantly more sit-ups than the national sample. The effect size of .46 indicates a modest difference as well, in that the average Maine 6-yr.-old boy would be approximately at the 69th percentile for the national sample. The advantage for Maine boys was smaller for the 7-yr.-old sample, absent for 8-yt-olds, and Maine 9-yr.-old boys
822
H . R. LEHNHARD. ETAL TABLE 1
COMPARISON OF MAINE AND NATIONAL SAMPLES OF GIRLSON FNEFITNESS VARIABLES Test/Age
Maine
M Sit-ups 6
7 8 9 Sit and Reach 6 7
8 9
SD
d
National* n
M
SD
t
n
22 26 28 29 29 29 29 30
Mile Run
6
14.2 13.7 13.2 9 12.4 Subscapular Skinfold 7 8
6
8
7 9 8 9 9 11 Trjcep Skinfold 6 12 7 13 8 14 9 15 Note.-d is the effect size, calculated by subtracting the national mean from the Maine mean and dividine bv the oooled standard deviation. Therefore. a negative effect size favors the national sarnpL, khile positive effect favors Maine (except for tf;e mile run, where the opposite is true). *Means from AAHPERD (1984) and USDHEW (1972). tp
HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS LEVELS O F ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN AGES 5-9 I t * . ' HOLLY R. LEHNHARD, ROBERT A. LEHNHAK D, STEPHEN A. BUTTERFIELD, DONNA M. BECKWITH, AND SCOTT F. MARION College of Education Health, Physical Education and Recreation University of Maine Summary.-National health goals include an increase in the physical activity and physical fitness of school-age children by the year 2000. To assess current fitness levels in the state of Maine, more than 8,000 public school students, ages five through nine, were assessed using a nationally known (American Alliance for Heal&, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) health-related physical fitness test. Maine students were then compared with a national norm group on (1) the one-mile waUc/run (rninutes:seconds), ( 2 ) skinfold thickness (centimeters), (3) one-minute timed sit-ups (number performed correctly), and (4) the sit and reach test for flexibility (centimeters). Generally, Maine boys and girls scored higher than the norms on the sit-up, sit and reach, and one-mile walklrun; however, they had significantly larger skinfold thicknesses. Implications for assessment of health-related fitness in t h ~ sage group were discussed.
To help establish baseline data for health-related fitness levels for Maine children, approximately 8,000 children ages 6 to 9 years were assessed using the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test. This paper reports the results of the assessments and compares them to a national sample of similarly aged children. There is a great deal of public concern regarding the physical fitness and health status of American youth. In fact, among 226 national health objectives identified by the Department of Health and Human Services to be achieved by 1990, eleven were related directly to physical fitness and exercise (Gilbert, Montes, & Ross, 1985); however, it was estimated that, of the total number of 1990 objectives, approximately one-quarter were unlikely to be met, including those in the areas of nutrition, physical fitness, and exercise (McGinnis, Kanner, & DeGraw, 1991). 'The authors express sincere a preciation to those physical educators who participated in this study. Their time and effort levoted to the Maine School Children Physical Fitness Project were invaluable, their dedication to our children's health unswerving. Without their assistance :his project could not be realized. This ~rojectwas funded in part by The University of Maine Faculty Research Fund, The Maine f i a n c e for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Eastern District of the American AUiance for Health. Phvsical Education. Recreation and Dance. Address correspondence to H . R. Lehnhard, P ~ . D . ,toliege of t ducat ion, Health, Physical Education and w t i o n , Lenggel Hall, Orono, ME 04469. Donna M. Beckwith is now Head Exercise Physiologist at The Bay Club in Portland, Maine and Scott F. Marion, a research associate for the Center for Educational Research in the College of Education. -
-
-
~-
~
820
H.R. LEHNHARD, E T A L
Another report initiated by the US Public Health Service, Healthy People 2000, describes health objectives for the nation for the year 2000 (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1991). Goals in the document are outlined in five major categories, (1) Health Promotion, (2) Health Protection, (3) Preventive Services, (4) Surveillance and Data Systems, and (5) Age-related Objectives (U.S. Public Health Service, 1991). Of particular importance to children and adolescents are the objectives in the areas of physical activity and fitness detailed in the Health Promotion category. These include educational and community-based programs which challenge the nation to increase children's health status, decrease risk of cardiovascular disease (e.g., reduce the prevalence of the overweight and increase cardiorespiratory fitness, respectively), and improve health services. Concomitant with this public health view of children's fitness there have been fundamental changes in what experts believe constitutes physical fitness. The advent of several health-related fitness tests, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test (AAHPERD, 1980, 1984), Fit Youth Today, Fitness Gram (Safrit, 1990), and the National Child Youth Fitness Survey (Ross & Gilbert, 1985; Ross & Pate, 1987; Safrit, 1990), has shifted emphasis away from measures of athletic performance such as speed, power, and agility to parameters which address functional health. These include cardiovascular efficiency, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Ancillary to individual health, Healthy People 2000 suggests that state and local surveillance systems be developed and implemented to monitor and track progress towards the stated objectives. To meet challenges outlined by the PubIic Health Service, comprehensive data collection is necessary to establish baseline information needed for subsequent program development. The purpose of the research reported here was to assess the health-related physical fitness levels of children ages 5 to 9 years in the state of Maine. These data helped to establish the baseline health-related fitness of the state's youth.
METHOD Each elementary physical educator (n = 228) in the state of Maine was contacted by mail and asked to participate in a statewide assessment effort. Fifty-four elementary physical educators representing 15 of the 16 counties in the state of Maine volunteered to participate. Each educator attended and successfully completed an in-service training program at the University of Maine. The program included information documenting the role of lifetime fitness in an individual's total health profile, as well as theoretical information and appropriate techniques for assessing lifetime fitness. All the teachers were trained in the proper administration procedures for the American ALance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Physical Fitness Test (AAHPERD, 1980), a nationally distributed test bat-
HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
821
tery. The four parameters of this test included the one-mile walklrun as a measure for cardiovascular fitness, timed (one minute) modified sit-ups as a measure for abdominal muscular strength and endurance, the sit and reach measure for low back and hamstring flexibility, and tricep and subscapula skinfold measures to assess body composition. A detailed description of each test item has been previously reported (AAHPERD, 1984). Recently, Safrit (1990) summarized findings of validity and reliability for each test item, noting the lack of sufficient information on young children and the need for further test development. During September and October 1989, in their respective schools, data were collected on over 8,000 students (4,135 boys and 4,281 girls) ages 5 through 9 years. Scores were then sent to the University of Maine for data entry and statistical analysis, performed using the SPSS package (SPSS, 1991; Rosner, 1982).
Analysis The mean values for both a Maine and national sample of students were compared for each test (sorted by age and sex) in two ways; (a) t ratios were calculated to assess whether the mean differences were statistically significant (a = .05) and (b) effect sizes were calculated to describe the mean differences in relationship to the actual distribution of scores. Tests of statistical significance with large data sets are not always very informative because results are often significant simply because the sample is so large. For instance, 16 of the 24 comparisons in this analysis produced statisticaly significant t ratios. Therefore, we also calculated effect sizes by subtracting the mean score for the national sample from the mean score for the Maine sample and then dividing by the pooled standard deviation (Glass, McGraw, & Smith, 1981; Hedges & Ollun, 1985). Thls procedure yields a standardized mean difference. The effect size is represented by d and, in this study, a positive d indicates a mean difference favoring Maine children. Expressed in standard deviation units, effects of .20 are considered small, .50 are considered moderate, and .80 or greater are considered large (Cohen, 1977). RESULTS Mean scores for the physical fitness parameters appear in Tables 1 and 2. A summary of each test item follows. Sit-ups Maine 6-yr.-old boys completed significantly more sit-ups than the national sample. The effect size of .46 indicates a modest difference as well, in that the average Maine 6-yr.-old boy would be approximately at the 69th percentile for the national sample. The advantage for Maine boys was smaller for the 7-yr.-old sample, absent for 8-yt-olds, and Maine 9-yr.-old boys
822
H . R. LEHNHARD. ETAL TABLE 1
COMPARISON OF MAINE AND NATIONAL SAMPLES OF GIRLSON FNEFITNESS VARIABLES Test/Age
Maine
M Sit-ups 6
7 8 9 Sit and Reach 6 7
8 9
SD
d
National* n
M
SD
t
n
22 26 28 29 29 29 29 30
Mile Run
6
14.2 13.7 13.2 9 12.4 Subscapular Skinfold 7 8
6
8
7 9 8 9 9 11 Trjcep Skinfold 6 12 7 13 8 14 9 15 Note.-d is the effect size, calculated by subtracting the national mean from the Maine mean and dividine bv the oooled standard deviation. Therefore. a negative effect size favors the national sarnpL, khile positive effect favors Maine (except for tf;e mile run, where the opposite is true). *Means from AAHPERD (1984) and USDHEW (1972). tp
