Is there any relationship between physical activity level and patterns, and physical performance in children?

Abstract

BackgroundIt is often assumed that physical activity (PA) and physical performance during childhood and adolescence are beneficial for health during adulthood, but a positive relationship between PA and physical performance has not been precisely clarified in children. The lack or the weakness of the relationships between PA and physical performance could be due to the measure of PA. If the use of accelerometry is considered as an objective and common measure of PA, the real patterns of children's habitual PA must be reflected. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the levels and patterns of PA assessed with high frequency accelerometry and physical performance in young children.MethodsEighty-six boys and 101 girls aged 6-12 years participated in this study. Physical activity was measured over a 7-day period, using a 5-s epoch. Physical performance was assessed by means of EUROFIT tests (anthropometrics, standing broad jump, the 10 × 5 meter shuttle run, the sit-and-reach, the handgrip, the number of sit-ups in 30 seconds, the 20-meter shuttle run).ResultsNo relationship was found between PA and physical performance. In boys only, body fatness was negatively associated with vigorous PA (r = -0.38, p < 0.001) and very high PA (r = -0.35, p < 0.01), in contrast to light PA (r = 0.28, p < 0.01), which was positively related to body fatness.ConclusionIn 6- to- 12 year- old children, the more active children were not the fittest. Our results also underline the need for uniformity in approach to measurement of PA, body composition and health-related fitness between studies.

Motor Performance as Predictor of Physical Activity in Children

“…There is a profound lack of longitudinal studies using objective measures to study the association between the FMP and PA from childhood to adolescence (10,29,39,52).…”

Physical fitness reference standards in European children: the IDEFICS study

“…1 Fitness has been considered a powerful marker of health, both, in childhood and in adulthood, 2 independent of physical activity. 3,4 A low fitness status during childhood and adolescence is associated with important health-related outcomes, such as increased future risk for obesity 5 and cardiovascular diseases, 6 impaired skeletal health, 7 reduced quality of life 8 and poor mental health. 9 In spite of the healthy benefits of a high fitness, children and adolescents performance in fitness tests has declined over the last three decades.…”

Revisión de las pruebas de evaluación de la condición física en Educación Secundaria

“…Además, Berdejo y González (2009) afirman que es muy importante trabajarla en mayor medida alrededor de los 13-14 años en hombres y 11-12 años en mujeres. Un estudio realizado con profesores de Educación Secundaria (Martínez, 2003) En cuanto a la fuerza del abdomen, el test más utilizado es la prueba de abdominales con manos entrelazadas sobre la nuca, integrado en la batería Eurofit (Blaes, 2011). Estos músculos de la pared abdominal participan en numerosas funciones, entre ellas, la prensa abdominal, la excreción del contenido de vísceras abdominales y pelvianas, la ventilación pulmonar y la movilización y estabilización del tronco (Monfort, 1998).…”

“…Las variables antropométricas y de composición corporal que suelen medirse son: peso o masa corporal, altura, índice de masa corporal (IMC) calculado como peso dividido por la altura al cuadrado (kg·m -2 ), pliegues cutáneos, circunferencias y diámetros corporales (Jiménez, 2007;Blaes et al, 2011). Material: báscula para el peso, tallímetro o antropómetro para la altura, paquímetro para los diámetros óseos, plicómetro para los pliegues cutáneos y cintra antropométrica para los perímetros.…”