COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PHYSICAL FITNESS PARAMETERS AMONG 12 YEARS OLD RURAL AND URBAN CHILDREN

Background: The environmental factors lead to changes in the physical fitness level among children. The objective of the present study was to compare the physical fitness parameters of the rural and urban children from Punjab.Methods: Total 60 children (30 rural and 30 urban) 12 years old were selected to participate in the study. All the subjects were measured for various physical fitness parameters. The speed ability was measured with the help of 30 meter sprint (Flying Start). The endurance of the rural and urban children was assessed with the help of 800 meter run. Sit and reach test was used to assess the flexibility of the children. The standing broad jump and standing vertical jump were applied to measure the explosive strength. The grip strength was measured with the help of hand dynamometer. The medicine ball put was used to measure the strength of arms.Results: The independent samples t-test revealed that the rural children were found to have significantly greater speed (p<0.05), standing broad jump (p<0.05), grip strength of both left (p<0.05) and right (p<0.05) hand than the urban children.Conclusions: It can be concluded that the rural children were better in some physical fitness parameters. Article visualizations