Physical fitness measures overall physical health. It is the ability of the body to work effectively and stay healthy during leisure and emergencies. Given the progressive integration of 2-3-year-olds into preschool, physical fitness testing of these children has become increasingly important. We aimed to develop and test the reliability of an appropriate field test method for physical fitness in 2-3-year-olds children. One hundred and three children (44 boys and 59 girls) volunteered for this study. Their height and weight were tested, and the same tester conducted the test twice for handgrip strength, 3 m balance walking, stair climbing, 5 m run, and kicking a ball at one-minute intervals. Pearson correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used for reliability testing. The reliability of this field test method for physical fitness was high in the repetitive tests of Chinese 2-3-year-olds for the four items of handgrip strength, 3 m balance walking, stair climbing and 5 m run, and the reliability was moderate for the kicking the ball item. This study indicates that these field-based physical fitness test methods have good reliability and are simple, feasible, safe, and easy to be accepted and understood by 2-3-year-old children; thus, it may be used as a reference for professionals in China and abroad.
Keywords: fundamental motor skill; growth and development; physical activity; physical fitness; preschool children.