1. Physical Fitness and Activity Assessment in Youth
C H A P T E R 10
Physical Fitness and Activity Assessment in Youth
Physical Fitness and Activity Assessment in Youth

2. Objectives Discuss the status of youth fitness in the United States
Differentiate athletic (motor) fitness and health-related fitness in youth
Describe similarities and differences in youth fitness batteries
(continued)

3. Objectives (continued)
Administer fitness tests for youth in a reliable and valid manner
Address issues in physical fitness assessment in special populations
Assess physical activity in youth

4. Youth Fitness in the United States
Some data suggest that US youth are unfit and that fitness levels may be decreasing
Conflicting information indicates that US youth fitness levels are not necessarily poor and may not be decreasing
No clear consensus on the levels of US youth fitness and the trend of those fitness levels

5. Passing Rates for the Fitnessgram 1-Mile (1.6 km) Run

6. Youth Risk Factor Behavior Survey Results

7. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Recommendations for Children and Adolescents)
Children and adolescents should do 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily
Most of the activity should be moderate to vigorous activity with at least 3 days of vigorous activities
At least 3 days of activity should include muscle- and bone-strengthening activities
Physical activity should be enjoyable, diverse, and age appropriate

8. Healthy People 2020 Physical Activity Objectives: Baseline (2010) and Targets (2020) for Improvement in Adolescents

9. Health-Related Fitness and Motor Fitness
Athletic or motor fitness describes physical fitness related to sport performance
Health-related fitness refers to the attainment or maintenance of physical capacities related to good or improved health

10. AAHPER Youth Fitness Test (Motor Fitness)
Pull-ups for boys; flexed arm hang for girls
1-min sit-up test
600-yd (548.6 m) run
Shuttle run
Standing long jump
50-yd (45.7 m) dash
(continued)

11. AAHPER Youth Fitness Test (continued)
Only the first three items (previous slide) can be considered health-related fitness tests
The other items relate to the ability to participate in sports and athletics
AAHPERD Health-Related Physical Fitness Test was developed to better measure health-related fitness
Includes components of cardiorespiratory endurance, body composition, and musculoskeletal function

12. Norm- vs. Criterion-Referenced Standards
Normative data can be useful for these:
Evaluating a program
Identifying excellence in achievement
Identifying the current status of participants either locally or nationally
Most youth fitness evaluations have moved away from norm-referenced standards due to outdated normative values

13. Youth Fitness Test Batteries
Assessment of physical fitness has shifted from motor fitness to more health-related emphasis
Currently there are a number of test batteries; however, three elements are present in all the test batteries
Health-related fitness items
Criterion-referenced standards for each test
Motivational awards

14. Presidential Youth Fitness Program
President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition began the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (2013)
Adoption of Cooper Institute’s fitness assessment, Fitnessgram
Professional development
Continued use of youth fitness recognition program
Expertise of US CDC to track and evaluate the program

15. Fitnessgram The National Youth Fitness Test Battery
Physical fitness battery that includes health-related criterion-referenced standards
Identifies three fitness zones:
Healthy Fitness
Needs Improvement
Needs Improvement – Health Risk
Highlight the Fitnessgram physical fitness battery because it has been validated and is used by millions of children

16. Fitnessgram Test Items
Program includes optional tests, computer software, and support
The following slides demonstrate five items from the battery:
PACER
Skinfold measurements
Curl-up
Trunk lift
90o push-ups

17. Fitnessgram Health-Related Criterion-Referenced Standards
Boys
Age
PACER (no. of laps)
Skinfolds (percent fat)
Curl-ups (number completed)
Trunk lift (in.)
Push-ups (number completed)
Upper
Lower 5 25 10 2 6 3 7 4 . 15 51 24 9 16 61 18
17+
Note. There is also a separate table for girls. This section of the table for boys is listed for demonstration purposes.

18. Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER)
Measures aerobic capacity
Run as long as possible back and forth across a 20-m (21.9 yd) space at a specified pace (pace increases each minute)
Recorded score is the total number of laps completed by each participant

19. Skinfold Measurements
Measure %body fat
Thickness of the skinfolds at the triceps and medial calf sites are measured and used to estimate %body fat
Measure each skinfold three times and record the median value. Record the skinfold thickness to the nearest 0.5 mm

20. Curl-up Measure abdominal strength and endurance
Performs as many curl-ups as possible to a maximum of 75
Record the number of curl-ups to a maximum of 75

21. Trunk Lift Measures trunk extensor strength and flexibility
Student lifts the upper body from the ground using the muscles of the back and holds the position to allow an accurate measurement from chin to the ground
Have student perform two trials; record the highest score to the nearest inch, up to a max of 12 in (30.5 cm)

22. 90o Push-up Measures upper-body strength and endurance
Student completes as many push-ups as possible to a cadence of 1 push-up every 3 seconds
Record the number of push-ups performed

23. Enhancing Reliable and Valid Fitness Test Results with Children
Attain adequate knowledge of test descriptions
Give proper demonstrations and instructions
Develop good student and teacher preparation through adequate practice trials
Conduct reliability studies
Step #3 is the most important of the 4 steps for minimizing measurement error.

24. Special Children
Traditional fitness test batteries are biased against children with physical or mental disabilities
Must consider participants’ limitations, mental capacities, interfering reflexes, and acquisition of prerequisite functions
Brockport Physical Fitness Test
Developed for youth with various disabilities age 10-17

25. Brockport Physical Fitness Test Items
Mental retardation
Blind with assistance
Cerebral palsy
Spinal cord injury
Congenital anomalies/ amputation
Reliability
Validity
PACER R O
Acceptable
Content
Concurrent
1 mi (1.6 km) run or walk
Target aerobic movement test
Skinfolds .
Back saver sit-and-reach test
Target stretch test
R/O
Note. O = Option; R = Recommended

26. Institute of Medicine Recommendations for Youth Fitness Assessment
The Committee on Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youth was created in September 2012
Two main goals:
To assess relations between youth fitness items and health outcomes
Recommend the best fitness test items for (1) use in national youth fitness surveys and (2) fitness testing in schools
(continued)

27. Institute of Medicine Recommendations for Youth Fitness Assessment (continued)
Recommends the importance of measuring health-related physical fitness
National surveys should include BMI and skinfold measures
Fitness testing in schools should be limited to BMI
Consider the addition of standing long jump to current youth fitness testing (lower-body strength)

28. Measuring Physical Activity in Youth
Physical activity improves the overall health of children
Physically inactive children tend to become inactive adults with higher risk for chronic diseases
Physically active children tend to become active adults with lower risk for chronic diseases
(continued)

29. Measuring Physical Activity in Youth (continued)
Need reliable and valid measures of physical activity in children and youth
Most reliably assessed through direct monitoring (e.g., pedometers)
Lack of feasibility limits for applying such procedures in large-scale studies
(continued)

30. Measuring Physical Activity in Youth (continued)
Reliability and validity for self-report instruments was higher for older children than younger children
Self-report scales may be suitable for high school age students but caution necessary when using with young children (Sallis et al )
Conclusions from this study suggest that self-report scales may be suitable for high school aged students but should be cautious when using with young children.

31. Activitygram
Assessment of physical activity developed by the Cooper Institute to accompany the Fitnessgram
Assessment with two approaches

32. Fitnessgram Approach to Physical Activity Assessment
Fitnessgram physical activity questionnaire based on three questions from the CDC YRBSS
Aerobic activity question
Muscle-strengthening activity question
Bone-strengthening activity question
Fitnessgram and Activitygram computer software provides individualized student feedback

33. Activitygram Approach to Physical Activity Assessment
Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (Weston, Petosa, and Pate 1997)
Child reports the frequency, intensity, time, and type of physical activity in 30-min blocks from 7a.m. to 11p.m.

34. Subjective Measurement of Physical Activity in Youth
Self-report measures of physical activity behaviors in children can be misleading
Self-report data suggest 46% of boys and 30% of girls meet the activity guidelines
During direct observation percentages drop to 4% and 1% for boys and girls, respectively
LeBlanc & Janssen, 2010

35. Objective Measurement of Physical Activity in Youth
Direct observation can be expensive in terms of time and labor
New technologies including portable computers have allowed reliable, valid, and feasible measurements using direct observation

36. Instruments Used for Observation of Physical Activity Behaviors

37. Summary
Reliable and valid assessment of youth physical activity and fitness is a major objective of the assessment of human performance
Effectively measuring and evaluating physical fitness and activity levels in youth will aid in developing a healthy and physically educated population