Objectives: To assess the physical fitness of short-statured boys aged 7 - 20 years by applying fitness norms established for the Polish population in relation to calendar or growth age.
Material and methods: The results of EUROFIT fitness tests recorded in 3517 short-statured (below percentile 10 for body height) boys, aged 7-20 years, selected from a large (n=37 000) representative male cohort, were analysed.
Results: Individual results were confronted with the respective percentile norms related to calendar age (CA) or growth age (GA), since body height deficiency at given CA could have affected the results of fitness tests expected for that CA. The percentages of subjects below, the percentile 3 or above percentile 97 for given fitness test and CA or GA for the Polish population, were determined. No differences between the percentages computed for CA and GA were noted in case of the following tests: sit-and-reach (SAR) and bent-arm hang (BAH). Significant differences in percentages for both percentiles were found for the following tests: standing broad jump (SBJ), endurance shuttle run (ESR), handgrip (HGR) and plate tapping (PLT). In case of sit-ups (SUP) significant differences in percentages between CA and GA norms were found below the percentile 3, and in case of shuttle run (SHR) and flamingo balance (FLB) -- above percentile 97.
Summary and conclusions: Fitness tests were classified into two categories according to the differences between the results related to norms for calendar or growth age: those independent of whether CA or GA norms were applied (SAR and BAH), and those susceptible to the kind of norm (SBJ, HGR, PLT, SHR, FLB and SUP). The results of tests from the latter category should thus be evaluated by confronting them with the norms established for the growth age, and not calendar age.