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

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.