Physical fitness among Japanese elementary school children in Tokyo : a comparison from 2001 to 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in health－related fitness among Japanese elementary school boys and girls in Tokyo from 2001 to 2008. METHODS: The height and weight of the children were measured, and the physical fitness test battery was used to measure the children’s fitness level. For the analysis of differences between 2001 and 2008, 2205 elementary school children（n＝737 for 2001 and n＝1468 for 2008）aged 6 to 12 years who were corresponding to 1st to 6th grade students were tested. RESULTS: For the boys, height increased in 2008 for the 5th grade（p<0,05）, while height decreased in 2008 for the 6th grade（p<0.05）. Body weight decreased in 2008 for the 2nd grade（p<0.0l）, while BMI increased in 2008 for the 6th grade（p<0.05）. The score in the sit-up test for 6th grade boys, the score in the side-step test for 5th grade boys, and the grip strength of 1st and 2nd grade boys showed better performance in 2008（p<0.05）, while the score in the sit-and-reach test for boys of 1st grade decreased in 2008（p<0.05）. For the girls, there was no significant difference between 2001 and 2008 for anthro pometric variable. The score of the sit-up test for 6th grade girls, that of the side-step test for 6th girls, that of broad jump test for 4th grade girls, and the grip strength for 4th grade girls showed better performance in 2008, however the score of sit-and-reach test decreased in 2008 for the 1st and 3rd grade girls（p