Department of Physical Education and Sport, School of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
J Sci Med Sport. 2011 Sep;14(5):417-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2011.04.004. Epub 2011 May 28.
We aimed to examine the differences in fitness components between rural and urban Spanish children and adolescents.
DESIGN/METHOD: A sample of 2569 school children (1068) and adolescents (1501) from urban and rural areas from the region of Aragón (Spain). Physical fitness was assessed by 7 tests: 20 m shuttle run, speed shuttle run, sit and reach, standing long jump, handgrip strength, bent arm hang and sit-ups in 30s (s). Differences (in fitness and anthropometry) by place of residence were examined by one-way analysis of covariance.
Rural young people had higher cardiorespiratory fitness, but lower speed-agility and flexibility than urban young people (all p<0.001; mean differences=1.5 mL/kg per min, 0.4s and 0.9 cm respectively). Regarding muscular fitness, rural young people had a better performance in handgrip strength (mean difference=0.8 kg), bent arm hang (mean difference=2.3s), and a lower performance in sit-ups in 30s (mean difference=0.9s) (all p<0.001), compared to their urban peers. Rural young people had a lower body mass, body mass index (BMI) and sum of skinfolds (all p<0.05; mean differences=1.1 kg, 0.3 kg/m(2) and 4.9 mm respectively) than their urban peers. Effect size was small-medium (Cohen's d=0.1-0.3).
Rural Spanish children and adolescents had overall a healthier profile than their urban peers in terms of cardiorespiratory fitness, upper- and lower-limb muscular fitness and adiposity, while they performed worse in speed-agility and flexibility. The place of residence should be taken into account when implementing effective interventions to promote physical activity and health.
本研究旨在探讨城乡西班牙儿童和青少年在体质组成方面的差异。
方法/设计：本研究选取了来自西班牙阿拉贡地区城乡地区的 2569 名学生（1068 名儿童和 1501 名青少年）作为样本。通过 7 项测试评估体质：20 米往返跑、速度折返跑、坐-立前伸、立定跳远、握力、屈臂悬垂和 30 秒仰卧起坐。采用单因素协方差分析比较了居住地差异（体质和人体测量）。
农村青少年的心肺功能更好，但速度-敏捷性和灵活性较差（均 P<0.001；平均差异分别为 1.5 mL/kg/min、0.4s 和 0.9 cm）。在肌肉力量方面，农村青少年的握力（平均差异=0.8kg）、屈臂悬垂（平均差异=2.3s）表现更好，30 秒仰卧起坐（平均差异=0.9s）表现更差（均 P<0.001）。与城市同龄人相比，农村青少年的体重、体重指数（BMI）和皮褶厚度总和较低（均 P<0.05；平均差异分别为 1.1kg、0.3kg/m2 和 4.9mm）。效应量为小-中（Cohen's d=0.1-0.3）。
与城市同龄人相比，农村西班牙儿童和青少年的心肺功能、上下肢肌肉力量和肥胖率整体更健康，而在速度-敏捷性和灵活性方面表现更差。在实施促进身体活动和健康的有效干预措施时，应考虑居住地因素。
