Department of General and Applied Kinesiology, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Horvaćanski zavoj 15, Zagreb, Croatia.
Department of Sport Motorics and Methodology in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Sci Rep. 2021 May 26;11(1):11039. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-90745-y.
The main purpose of the study was to analyze secular trends of health-related physical fitness in 7-14-year-old Croatian children and adolescents from 1999 and 2014. In this observational cross-sectional study, we recruited 5077 children and adolescents between ages 11 and 14 (50.8% girls) from five primary schools located in the capital city of Zagreb. Physical fitness performance was tested from 1999 until 2014. Physical fitness performance included: (1) body-mass index (measure of body size), (2) standing broad jump (measure of lower-body power), (3) polygon backwards (measure of general coordination and agility), (4) sit-ups in 60 s (measure of upper-body strength), (5) sit-and-reach test (measure of flexibility) and (6) 6-min run test (measure of cardiorespiratory fitness). Boys performed better in all physical fitness tests, except for sit-and-reach test (p < 0.001). In boys, between 1999 and 2014, body size, upper-body strength and coordination/agility increased, while flexibility, lower-body power and cardiorespiratory fitness decreased. During the same period, girls experienced an increase in body size, lower-body power, upper-body strength, coordination/agility and flexibility, while cardiorespiratory fitness decreased. This study shows that cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility and coordination/agility decrease, while upper-body strength increases in both sexes. These findings should serve as an avenue for national monitoring system to screen and track biological development in children and adolescents.
本研究的主要目的是分析 1999 年至 2014 年期间克罗地亚 7 至 14 岁儿童和青少年健康相关身体素质的长期变化趋势。在这项观察性横断面研究中，我们从位于首都萨格勒布的五所小学招募了 5077 名 11 至 14 岁的儿童和青少年（50.8%为女孩）。身体素质测试从 1999 年持续到 2014 年。身体素质测试包括：（1）身体质量指数（身体大小的衡量标准），（2）立定跳远（下肢力量的衡量标准），（3）多边形后移（一般协调性和敏捷性的衡量标准），（4）60 秒仰卧起坐（上半身力量的衡量标准），（5）坐式伸展测试（柔韧性的衡量标准）和（6）6 分钟跑测试（心肺功能的衡量标准）。男孩在所有身体素质测试中表现都优于女孩，除了坐式伸展测试（p<0.001）。在男孩中，1999 年至 2014 年间，身体大小、上半身力量和协调性/敏捷性增加，而柔韧性、下肢力量和心肺功能则下降。在同一时期，女孩的身体大小、下肢力量、上半身力量、协调性/敏捷性和柔韧性都有所增加，而心肺功能则下降。本研究表明，男孩和女孩的心肺功能、柔韧性和协调性/敏捷性下降，而上半身力量增加。这些发现应该成为国家监测系统的一个途径，以筛选和跟踪儿童和青少年的生物发育。
