Health-related physical fitness of schoolchildren aged 11 to 14 years in Marechal Cândido Rondon – PR

Abstract

The study had as objective to analyze the levels of health-related physical fitness of scholars from age 11 to 14 years, of both genders, belonging to a public school of Marechal Cândido Rondon – PR, according to the fitness standards proposed by Physical Best (1988). The sample had 113 students, they being 57 boys and 56 girls, with ages varying from 11 to 14 years. To obtain the indicators of the corporal weight, the BMI (body mass index) measures, and skinfold thickness (triceps and sub-scapular) were obtained. The motor tests sit-and-reach test, modified sit-up, modified pull-up test and one mile walk/run test were applied for the determination of the levels of health-related physical fitness. For the statistical treatment of the data, it was applied the analyses of the relative frequency of the reach of the proposed health fitness standards. The results were satisfactory for the majority of the adolescents of both genders, obtaining high indexes in the health for the BMI and skinfold thickness. For the components of strength and muscular endurance, the results of the curl-up test presented the lowest indexes of the established health fitness standards, related to the other tests for both genders and in all ages. In the test of strength of superior members, both genders in all ages reached more than 90% of the established criterion. The results of the mile test were also low for both genders. Only the girls from age 12 and 14 years reached the best results, respectively 68.8 and 58.3%. Among the boys, the best results were of 72.7% for the 12 year olds, and among the other students of other ages, only 18 to 29% obtained the established health criterion. When analyzing the sum of the tests in which the adolescents of both genders simultaneously reached the health fitness standards, it shows that about 35.7% of the girls reached the required levels in five of the items, and about 12.5% reached in 6 items of the tests. Finally, a small part of the youths of both sexes didn’t reach the fitness standards established in some of the specific tests, we can conclude that healthy considered healthy group of children for the health fitness standards.