Prevalence of physical fitness in Chinese school-aged children: Findings from the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China-The Youth Study

Zheng Zhu; Yang Yang; Zhenxing Kong; Yimin Zhang; Jie Zhuang

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2017.09.003

Prevalence of physical fitness in Chinese school-aged children: Findings from the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China-The Youth Study

J Sport Health Sci. 2017 Dec;6(4):395-403. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2017.09.003. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Authors

Zheng Zhu^{1

2}, Yang Yang^{1

3}, Zhenxing Kong⁴, Yimin Zhang⁴, Jie Zhuang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Research Center for Physical Fitness and Health of Children and Adolescents, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
² School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
³ Shanghai Municipal Center for Students' Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance, Shanghai Municipal Education Committee, Shanghai 200011, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Exercise and Physical Fitness, Ministry of Education, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China.

Abstract

Purpose: This study was to present the 2016 prevalence estimates of Chinese school-aged children meeting physical fitness standards and to examine differences by sex and residence locales in children who did not meet fitness standards.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of 171,991 children and adolescents (boy: 50.0%, Grades 1-12) who participated in the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China-The Youth Study. The main outcomes were fitness measures, assessed by the 2014 revised Chinese National Student Physical Fitness Standard (CNSPFS), covering areas of aerobic capacity, upper body strength, flexibility, body mass index, abdominal strength, and trunk strength. Children's overall physical fitness performance was categorized, per CNSPFS standards, as excellent, good, pass, or no pass. Data on the prevalence of physical fitness categories and not meeting fitness standards (i.e., among children who received a "no pass" mark) were analyzed, through logistic regression, by sex (boy, girl) and residence locales (urban, rural) across 3 school grades (primary, junior middle, and junior high).

Results: In 2016, 5.95% of Chinese children and adolescents achieved an "excellent" mark, 25.80% received a "good" rating, 59.90% received a "pass", and 8.35% received a "no pass". Overall, boys were more likely to not pass the fitness standards compared with girls (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.710; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.708-1.712) and children living in urban areas were more likely to not pass the standards than those living in rural areas (aOR = 1.298; 95%CI: 1.296-1.299). Consistent patterns of not meeting fitness standards were also found by sex and residence locales across all 3 school grades.

Conclusion: In the Chinese school-aged population, about 3 in 10 children achieved an "excellent" or "good" fitness standard in 2016, and about 8% of this population did not meet CNSPFS standards. Children living in urban areas were more likely to not meet minimum fitness performance levels, and boys in school were more likely to not meet minimum fitness performance levels than girls.

Keywords: Cardiorespiratory endurance; Children; Fitness; Flexibility; Muscular strength; Physical activity.