Association of School Environment and After-School Physical Activity with Health-Related Physical Fitness among Junior High School Students in Taiwan

Kai-Yang Lo, Min-Chen Wu, Shu-Chin Tung, City C. Hsieh, Hsueh-Hua Yao and Chien-Chang Ho
Additional contact information
Kai-Yang Lo: Center for General Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City 804, Taiwan
Min-Chen Wu: Office of Physical Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan
Shu-Chin Tung: Department of Health and Leisure Management, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan
City C. Hsieh: Department of Physical Education, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan
Hsueh-Hua Yao: Department of Radiological Technology, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan
Chien-Chang Ho: Department of Physical Education, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: The relationship between students’ school environment and exercise habits is complex, and is affected by numerous factors. However, the few studies that have been conducted on this relationship have reported inconsistent results, especially regarding Taiwanese students. We conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate the association of school environment and after-school physical activity with health-related physical fitness in Taiwanese adolescents. Data were drawn from a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2008 of health-related physical fitness measurements among junior high school students (649,442 total) in grades seven to nine.School environment (level of urbanization, school size, presence of sports field or gymnasium) and after-school physical activity were assessed for their association with adolescents’ physical fitness measurements (body mass index (BMI), bent-leg sit-ups, 800-/1600-m run, sit-and-reach, standing long jump). Urban boys and girls perform significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; girls from rural areas exhibited significantly worse scores in body composition. Boys from large-size schools performed the worst in cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; whereas girls from large-size schools performed the worst in muscle strength, muscle endurance, and explosive power, but had the best score for body composition. However, the differences in body composition of boys from large-, medium-, and small- size schools did not reach a statistically significant level. Adolescents of both genders in schools with a sports field or gymnasium exhibited significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, and explosive power. Boys in schools with a sports field or gymnasium had significantly better body composition; girls in schools with sports field or gymnasium differed significantly in flexibility. Adolescents of both genders who participated in physical activity after school had significantly better body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, and flexibility. Boys who participated in physical activity after school significantly differed in explosive power, whereas girls who participated in physical activity after school exhibited significantly better flexibility. Thus, the current study demonstrated that some factors, including urbanization (school location in rural or urban areas), school size, school facility provision (school with or without sports fields or gymnasiums), and after-school physical activity participation are more important than others in shaping adolescents’ physical fitness in Taiwan; meanwhile, these association patterns differed by gender.

Keywords: school environment; after-school physical activity; health-related physical fitness; adolescent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/83/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/83/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:1:p:83-:d:87893

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().