ERIC Number: EJ961819
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-8981
EISSN: N/A
The Relationship between Sports Participation and Health-Related Physical Fitness in Middle School and High School Students
Renfrow, Matthew S.; Caputo, Jennifer L.; Otto, Stephanie M.; Farley, Richard F.; Eveland-Sayers, Brandi M.
Physical Educator, v68 n3 p118-123 2011
The purpose of this case study was to examine the relationship between sports participation and health-related physical fitness in middle school and high school students. Health-related physical fitness was measured using the Fitnessgram test battery to assess healthy fitness zone (HFZ) achievement in five areas: body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, muscular flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. Students also indicated the number of organized sports in which they participated during the past 12 months. Chi-square analysis was run on sports participation and number of HFZs achieved layered by sex. There was a significant difference between the expected number and the observed number of HFZs achieved by sports participation for males (p = 0.035), but not females (p = 0.255). Males who played more sports achieved significantly more HFZs than males who played fewer sports, possibly due to the prolonged and intense nature of the sports they played most. It is recommended that physical educators encourage sports participation for all students to increase physical activity levels and improve health-related physical fitness in their students. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Muscular Strength, Body Composition, Physical Activities, Physical Fitness, Physical Education, High School Students, Athletics, Student Participation, Middle School Students, Correlation, Metabolism, Gender Differences, Private Schools
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; High Schools; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A