Yogi Yukitomo
Department of Sports Sociology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Sociology, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan.
Sports (Basel). 2025 May 31;13(6):173. doi: 10.3390/sports13060173.
This study examines six decades (1964-2023) of changes in motor skills and body dimensions among Japanese 13-year-old students, analyzing grip strength, handball throwing, 50 m dash, endurance running, and composite scores. National Physical Fitness and Motor Skills Survey data were analyzed alongside School Health Examination Survey measurements to identify trends and correlations between performance metrics and anthropometric variables. The results revealed distinct developmental patterns, with motor skills peaking in the 1980s for both genders, followed by decline until 2000, after which boys experienced stagnation while girls showed improvement until 2019. Both genders demonstrated marked decreases following 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, while height increased significantly over the study period, only boys' 50 m dash performance showed strong positive correlations with height (r = 0.779) and BMI (r = 0.854). This longitudinal analysis demonstrates how interdisciplinary factors-including educational policy shifts, reduced physical education curriculum hours, changes in urban park design, diminished outdoor play opportunities, and increased sedentary behaviors-collectively impact children's motor development. These findings hold significant implications for public health initiatives and sports education strategies aimed at reversing concerning trends in youth physical capabilities and addressing the substantial post-pandemic decline in motor performance.
本研究考察了日本13岁学生在六十年间(1964年至2023年)运动技能和身体尺寸的变化,分析了握力、手球投掷、50米短跑、耐力跑和综合得分。对国家体质与运动技能调查数据以及学校健康检查调查测量结果进行了分析,以确定表现指标与人体测量变量之间的趋势和相关性。结果显示出不同的发展模式,运动技能在20世纪80年代达到峰值,随后下降至2000年,此后男孩停滞不前,而女孩在2019年前有所改善。2020年后,两性的表现均显著下降,这与新冠疫情同时发生。值得注意的是,虽然在研究期间身高显著增加,但只有男孩的50米短跑成绩与身高(r = 0.779)和体重指数(r = 0.854)呈强正相关。这项纵向分析表明,包括教育政策转变、体育课程时长减少、城市公园设计变化、户外玩耍机会减少以及久坐行为增加在内的多学科因素如何共同影响儿童的运动发展。这些发现对旨在扭转青少年身体能力方面令人担忧趋势以及应对疫情后运动表现大幅下降的公共卫生举措和体育教育策略具有重要意义。