Assessment of Physical Fitness among School Children Aged between 11 and 14 Years in Surat City: A Cross-sectional Evaluation

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Physical fitness (PF) is a powerful health indicator in children. The study aimed to measure PF and to evaluate age and gender differences in PF in school children of Surat city aged between 11 and 14 years. Methodology: The tests adopted from the EUROFIT Fitness Test Battery were used to measure the components of PF among 872 school children. Initially, body composition (height and weight) of children was measured, and body mass index (BMI) was noted. A 20-m shuttle run test to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, a hand-grip strength test to assess the strength of the hand muscles, a standing broad jump test to assess lower body explosive power, sit-ups in 30 s to evaluate abdominal muscular endurance, a sit-and-reach (SAR) test to assess flexibility, and a 10 × 5 m shuttle test to assess agility/speed were used. Results: Overall, boys performed better than girls for all the PF components except for the flexibility (SAR test), in which girls performed better. As the age increases, there would be an increase in body composition (BMI) along with increased performance on different PF components except VO2 max of 20-m shuttle run test. Conclusion: The present study concluded that a lower level of PF was noted among school children in comparison to the results of international studies, and girls are less physically fit than boys.