A cross-sectional study on the deprivation and sex differences in health-related fitness measures in school children

RICHARD TYLER, Kelly A Mackintosh, Hannah L Spacey, Gareth Stratton

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate deprivation and sex differences in selected health-relatedfitness measures in9-12-year-oldchildren.Datawere capturedon3,407children (49.3% boys;aged10.5 ±0.6 years). Cardiorespiratory fitness(20 m multistage shuttle run test; 20 m MSRT), muscular strength (handgrip strength) and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) scores were used to make quintile groups. A two-way Analysis of Variance examined differences in BMI z-score by sex and WIMD quintiles. Two-wayAnalysis of Covariances investigated the effect of sex and WIMD quintiles on grip strength and shuttles achieved in 20 m MSRT, adjusting for BMI z-score and maturation, repectively. Independent of sex, children in the middle quintile had a significantly higher mean BMI z-score(p=0.029)thantheirleastdeprivedcounterparts.Therewasasignificantincreaseingripstrength (p = 0.005) and20 m MSRT (boys p < 0.001; girls p = 0.028) between most and least deprived quintiles. Significant differences in 20 m MSRT score were more apparent with decreases in deprivation in boys. Overall, inequalities exist in health-related fitness by sex and deprivation. These results can be used to inform focused services to improve current and future health.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Sports Sciences
Early online date19 Oct 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • Cardiorespiratory fitness
  • body mass index
  • children
  • deprivation
  • muscular strength
  • socioeconomic status

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