Authors
Mitch Barton, Dallas Independent School District
Allen W. Jackson, University of North Texas
Scott B. Martin, University of North Texas
James R. Morrow Jr., University of North Texas
Trent A. Petrie, University of North Texas
Christy A. Greenleaf, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
International Journal of Exercise Science 10(3): 379-389, 2017.
DOI: 10.70252/KCDU5703
Abstract
Public health guidelines for physical activity (PA) behaviors are being updated with 2018 as a proposed release date. Currently, ≥60 minutes of daily PA are recommended for youth. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between reported days of aerobic PA and health-related fitness (HRF). Participants included 4448 students in grades 6-8. Self-reported days of ≥60 minutes of aerobic PA was obtained. HRF was assessed with FitnessGram. Discriminant analysis indicated that weekly days of aerobic PA related to HRF. Adolescents who participated in ≥5 days of weekly aerobic PA generally had better fitness results than those with ≤4 days. Chi-square analyses indicated the highest percentages of adolescents in the FitnessGram Healthy Fitness Zone™ (HFZ) for each test item were those with ≥5 days of aerobic PA. These findings provided initial support that the impact of aerobic PA on HRF plateaus at 5 days per week. Thus, adolescents may be able to improve HRF even if they do not meet the currently recommended guidelines for daily PA.
Recommended Citation
Barton, Mitch; Jackson, Allen W.; Martin, Scott B.; Morrow, James R. Jr.; Petrie, Trent A.; and Greenleaf, Christy A. (2017) “Better Health-Related Fitness in Youth: Implications for Public Health Guidelines,” International Journal of Exercise Science: Vol. 10 : Iss. 3, Pages 379 – 389.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70252/KCDU5703