Age- and Sex-Specific Physical Fitness Reference and Association with Body Mass Index in Hong Kong Chinese Schoolchildren

Ka-Man Yip, Sam W. S. Wong, Gilbert T. Chua, Hung-Kwan So, Frederick K. Ho, Rosa S. Wong, Keith T. S. Tung, Elaine Y. N. Chan, Winnie W. Y. Tso, Bik-Chu. Chow, Genevieve P. G. Fung, Wilfred H. S. Wong and Patrick Ip ()
Additional contact information
Ka-Man Yip: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Sam W. S. Wong: Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Gilbert T. Chua: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Hung-Kwan So: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Frederick K. Ho: Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Rosa S. Wong: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Keith T. S. Tung: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Elaine Y. N. Chan: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Winnie W. Y. Tso: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Bik-Chu. Chow: Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Genevieve P. G. Fung: Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Wilfred H. S. Wong: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Patrick Ip: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: There is lacking a population-based study on the fitness level of Hong Kong schoolchildren, and it seems that increasing childhood obesity prevalence has shifted the classification of healthy fitness, with ‘underfit’ as normal. This cross-sectional territory study aimed to develop an age- and sex-specific physical fitness reference using a representative sample of children aged 6–17 and to determine the associations with body mass index in schoolchildren. The study analyzed Hong Kong School Physical Fitness Award Scheme data covering grade 1 to grade 12 students’ physical fitness and anthropometric measurements from 2017 to 2018. This reference was established without the impact due to COVID-19. Four aspects of physical fitness tests were measured using a standardized protocol, including (i) upper limb muscle strength, (ii) one-minute sit-up, (iii) sit-and-reach, and (iv) endurance run tests. The generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape was used to construct the reference charts. A Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the mean differences in age, weight, and height, and a Pearson’s chi-square test was used to examine the distributions of sex groups. A Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare the group differences in BMI status, followed by the Dunn test for pairwise comparisons. A 5% level of significance was regarded as statistically significant. Data of 119,693 students before the COVID-19 pandemic were included in the analysis. The association between physical fitness level and BMI status varied depending on the test used, and there were significant differences in fitness test scores among BMI groups. The mean test scores of the obese group were lower in most of the tests for both boys and girls, except for handgrip strength. The underweight group outperformed the obese group in push-ups, one-minute sit-ups, and endurance run tests, but not in handgrip strength. In conclusion, a sex- and age-specific physical fitness reference value for Hong Kong Chinese children aged 6 to 17 years old is established, and this study demonstrated a nonlinear relationship between BMI status and physical fitness. The reference will help to identify children with poor physical fitness to offer support and guidance on exercise training. It also serves as a baseline for assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hong Kong students’ physical fitness.

Keywords: physical fitness; reference values; BMI; Chinese children; exercise; Hong Kong (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15346/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15346/ (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:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15346-:d:978702

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 ().