Field-based physical fitness assessment in preschool children in China

Abstract

Background Physical fitness in the preschool years is considered a marker of current and future health. Therefore, understanding physical fitness levels of preschool children is necessary. Furthermore, the use of field-based methods to measure physical fitness is essential for assessing children in authentic venues such as schools. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to describe the physical fitness of Chinese preschool children across field-based methods considering a statement of confidence intervals for reference in physical fitness in each age and genders. Methods A total of 619 children (296 boys and 323 girls) aged 3–6 years old from China participated in the present study. Physical fitness was measured using the Chinese National Physical Fitness Measurement (CNPFM-Pre) battery, which included the tennis ball throw (upper-limb muscular strength), standing long jump (lower-limb muscular strength), shuttle run test (speed-agility), double-leg timed hop (coordination), sit-and-reach (flexibility), and balance beam test (dynamic balance). Results The results revealed significant differences in gender for standing long jump (SLJ; η 2 = 0.012, p = 0.007), tennis ball throw (TT; η 2 = 0.081, p < 0.001), sit-and-reach (SR; η 2 = 0.114, p < 0.001), and one-legged stance test (OST; η 2 = 0.037, p < 0.001). Age had positive effects on all physical fitness performance tests, as the shuttle run test (η 2 = 0.672, p < 0.001), SLJ (η 2 = 0.513, p < 0.001), TT (η 2 = 0.394, p < 0.001), double-legged timed hop test (DTH; η 2 = 0.445, p < 0.001), SR (η 2 = 0.069, p < 0.001), balance beam test (BBT; η 2 = 0.367, p < 0.001), and OST (η 2 = 0.336, p < 0.001). Older preschool children performed better than their younger counterparts in all the tests. No significant interactions between age groups and gender were found. Conclusions This study provided age- and gender-specific physical fitness performance data in Chinese preschool children. Gender differences in physical fitness tests performance already exists at the preschool age. All physical fitness component results increased with age in this cohort. These findings can help healthcare, physical education, and pediatric professionals understand the physical fitness development of preschool children at different ages and help design sports tasks for preschool boys and girls.