IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i13p6920-d583761.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in Physical Fitness during Summer Months and the School Year in Austrian Elementary School Children—A 4-Year Longitudinal Study

Author

Listed:
  • Clemens Drenowatz

    (Division of Sport, Physical Activity and Health, University of Education Upper Austria, 4020 Linz, Austria)

  • Gerson Ferrari

    (Escuela de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, el Deporte y la Salud, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago 7500618, Chile)

  • Klaus Greier

    (Division of Physical Education, Private Educational College (KPH-ES), 6422 Stams, Austria
    Department of Sports Science, Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria)

Abstract

Even though physical fitness is an important component in children’s health and well-being, there has been a decline in physical fitness over the last several decades. The present study examined potential differences in the development of physical fitness during the academic year and summer vacation in Austrian elementary-school children. A total of 214 children (52.3% boys) completed the German motor test in the fall (after summer vacation) and spring (prior to summer vacation) of every grade throughout their elementary school years. This resulted in eight assessments of cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular fitness, flexibility, speed, agility, and balance over a 4-year period. As expected, physical fitness increased with age but the improvement in cardio-respiratory endurance and muscular fitness was more pronounced during summer vacation ( p < 0.01), while the improvement in speed was more pronounced during the academic year ( p < 0.01). These results indicate an influence of weather conditions on health-enhancing physical activity in addition to structural and social support. Particularly in geographical regions with cold winters and shorter days, health-enhancing physical activity may be limited. Accordingly, schools need to provide additional opportunities to ensure an adequate amount of physical activity that stimulates the development of physical fitness.

Suggested Citation

  • Clemens Drenowatz & Gerson Ferrari & Klaus Greier, 2021. "Changes in Physical Fitness during Summer Months and the School Year in Austrian Elementary School Children—A 4-Year Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6920-:d:583761
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6920/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6920/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amanda E. Staiano & Stephanie T. Broyles & Peter T. Katzmarzyk, 2015. "School Term vs. School Holiday: Associations with Children’s Physical Activity, Screen-Time, Diet and Sleep," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-10, July.
    2. Catherine B. Chan & Daniel A. Ryan, 2009. "Assessing the Effects of Weather Conditions on Physical Activity Participation Using Objective Measures," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Clemens Drenowatz & Klaus Greier & Gerhard Ruedl & Martin Kopp, 2019. "Association between Club Sports Participation and Physical Fitness across 6- to 14-Year-Old Austrian Youth," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-11, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elvar S. Saevarsson & Vaka Rognvaldsdottir & Runa Stefansdottir & Erlingur Johannsson, 2021. "Organized Sport Participation, Physical Activity, Sleep and Screen Time in 16-Year-Old Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-10, March.
    2. Luke Hanna & Con Burns & Cian O’Neill & Edward Coughlan, 2023. "A Systematic Review of the Implementation and Effectiveness of ‘The Daily Mile’ on Markers of Children’s Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-28, June.
    3. Pia Andersen & Sara Holmberg & Kristofer Årestedt & Lena Lendahls & Per Nilsen, 2020. "Physical Activity on Prescription in Routine Health Care: 1-Year Follow-Up of Patients with and without Counsellor Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Myriam Preuß & Mark Nieuwenhuijsen & Sandra Marquez & Marta Cirach & Payam Dadvand & Margarita Triguero-Mas & Christopher Gidlow & Regina Grazuleviciene & Hanneke Kruize & Wilma Zijlema, 2019. "Low Childhood Nature Exposure is Associated with Worse Mental Health in Adulthood," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Antonio Garriga & Nuria Sempere-Rubio & María José Molina-Prados & Raquel Faubel, 2021. "Impact of Seasonality on Physical Activity: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Yohannes Woldamanuel & Patrick Bergman & Philip von Rosen & Unn-Britt Johansson & Maria Hagströmer & Jenny Rossen, 2024. "Association between Weather and Self-Monitored Steps in Individuals with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes in Sweden over Two Years," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-10, March.
    7. David Chapman & Agneta Larsson, 2019. "Toward an Integrated Model for Soft-Mobility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Eszter Füzéki & Jan Schröder & Nicolò Carraro & Laura Merlo & Rüdiger Reer & David A. Groneberg & Winfried Banzer, 2021. "Physical Activity during the First COVID-19-Related Lockdown in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-11, March.
    9. Eiichi Yoshimura & Eri Tajiri & Yoichi Hatamoto & Shigeho Tanaka, 2020. "Changes in Season Affect Body Weight, Physical Activity, Food Intake, and Sleep in Female College Students: A Preliminary Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-10, November.
    10. Timmer, Sebastian & Bösehans, Gustav & Henkel, Sven, 2023. "Behavioural norms or personal gains? – An empirical analysis of commuters‘ intention to switch to multimodal mobility behaviour," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    11. Kirkke Reisberg & Eva-Maria Riso & Jaak Jürimäe, 2021. "Physical Activity, Fitness, and Cognitive Performance of Estonian First-Grade Schoolchildren According Their MVPA Level in Kindergarten: A Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    12. Fernando Galindo-Perdomo & Carmen Peiró-Velert & Alexandra Valencia-Peris, 2021. "Do Adolescents Who Meet Physical Activity Recommendations on Weekdays Also Meet Them on Weekends? A Cross-Sectional Study in Colombia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    13. Ryan D. Burns & Timothy A. Brusseau & You Fu, 2018. "Moderators of School-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Primary School-Aged Children: A Meta-Regression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Jeong-Hui Park & Youngwon Kim & Gregory J. Welk & Pedro Silva & Jung-Min Lee, 2021. "Association with Temperature Variability and Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep in a Free-Living Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Antoni Colom & Maurici Ruiz & Julia Wärnberg & Montserrat Compa & Josep Muncunill & Francisco Javier Barón-López & Juan Carlos Benavente-Marín & Elena Cabeza & Marga Morey & Montserrat Fitó & Jordi Sa, 2019. "Mediterranean Built Environment and Precipitation as Modulator Factors on Physical Activity in Obese Mid-Age and Old-Age Adults with Metabolic Syndrome: Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Jiabin Yu & Chen Yang & Shen Zhang & Diankai Zhai & Jianshe Li, 2020. "Comparison Study of Perceived Neighborhood-Built Environment and Elderly Leisure-Time Physical Activity between Hangzhou and Wenzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-12, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6920-:d:583761. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.