Temporal Trends in the Physical Fitness of Hong Kong Adolescents
                    Between 1998 and 2015

Eric Tsz-Chun Poon; Grant R. Tomkinson; Wendy Yajun Huang; Stephen Heung-Sang Wong

doi:10.1055/a-1738-2072

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2023; 44(10): 728-735
DOI: 10.1055/a-1738-2072

Training & Testing

Temporal Trends in the Physical Fitness of Hong Kong Adolescents Between 1998 and 2015

Authors

Eric Tsz-Chun Poon

¹Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

²Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Grant R. Tomkinson

³Department of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

⁴Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Wendy Yajun Huang

⁵Centre for Health and Exercise Science Research, Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Stephen Heung-Sang Wong

²Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

Abstract

Low physical fitness in adolescence is linked with increased cardiometabolic risk and early all-cause mortality. This study aimed to estimate temporal trends in the physical fitness of Hong Kong adolescents aged 12–17 years between 1998 and 2015. Physical fitness (9-min run/walk, sit-ups, push-ups, and sit-and-reach) and body size data in a total of 28,059 adolescents tested across five population-representative surveys of Hong Kong secondary school pupils, were reported. Temporal trends in means were estimated at the gender-age level by best-fitting sample-weighted linear regression, with national trends estimated by a post-stratified population-weighting procedure. Overall, there were small declines in 9-min run/walk (effect size (ES)=−0.29 (95%CI: −0.32, −0.26)) and sit-ups performance (ES=−0.24 (95%CI: −0.27, −0.21)), with negligible changes in push-ups and sit-and-reach performance. There were small concurrent increases in both mean height and body mass, with a negligible increase in sum of skinfolds. Trends in mean physical fitness and body size/were not always uniform across the population distribution. The small declines in mean 9-min run/walk and sit-ups performance for Hong Kong adolescents are suggestive of corresponding declines in cardiorespiratory fitness and abdominal/core endurance, respectively. Increased national health promotion strategies are required to improve existing trends.

Key words

cardiorespiratory fitness - physical fitness - body size - adolescent - government - public health - cross-sectional studies

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References

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