Assessing Health-Related Fitness Tests in the School Setting: Reliability, Feasibility and Safety; The ALPHA Study

V. España-Romero; E. G. Artero; D. Jimenez-Pavón; M. Cuenca-Garcia; F. B. Ortega; J. Castro-Piñero; M. Sjöstrom; M. J. Castillo-Garzon; J. R. Ruiz

doi:10.1055/s-0030-1251990

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Int J Sports Med 2010; 31(7): 490-497
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1251990

Training & Testing

Assessing Health-Related Fitness Tests in the School Setting: Reliability, Feasibility and Safety; The ALPHA Study

V. España-Romero¹ ^, ² , E. G. Artero¹ , D. Jimenez-Pavón¹ ^, ³ ^, ⁴ , M. Cuenca-Garcia¹ , F. B. Ortega¹ ^, ² , J. Castro-Piñero² ^, ⁵ , M. Sjöstrom² , M. J. Castillo-Garzon¹ , J. R. Ruiz¹ ^, ²

¹University of Granada, Department of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, Granada, Spain
²Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
³Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Technical University of Madrid, Spain
⁴EUMI Sagrado Corazán, University of Córdoba, Spain
⁵chool of Science, University of Cádiz, Department of Physical Education, Puerto Real, Spain

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Publication History

accepted after revision February 26, 2010

Publication Date:
29 April 2010 (online)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the reliability, feasibility and safety of a health-related fitness test battery administered by Physical Education (PE) teachers in the school setting. Six PE teachers, from three primary schools and three secondary schools, assessed twice (7 days apart) the 20 m shuttle run, handgrip and standing long jump tests, as well as weight, stature, triceps and subscapular thickness and waist circumference in 58 children (age: 6–11 yr) and 80 adolescents (age: 12–18 yr). Feasibility and safety were assessed by researches by means of direct observation. Significant inter-trial differences were found for the standing long jump test (3.8±12.7 cm, P<0.05) and for stature (0.73±0.8 cm, P<0.001) in children, and for waist circumference in both children and adolescents (−0.82±1.2 cm and −0.35±0.8 cm respectively, P=0.001). The feasibility and safety items assessed presented a successful answer. Therefore, the results indicate that health-related fitness tests administered by PE teachers are reliable, feasible and safe to be performed in the school setting.

Key words

reliability - feasibility - safety - health-related fitness test - school setting

References

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Correspondence

Vanesa España-Romero

University of Granada,

Department of Medical

Physiology, School of Medicine,

Granada, Spain , Avd/ Madrid sn

18008 Granada

Spain

Phone: +34/958/24 3540

Fax: +34/958/24 9015

Email: vanespa@ugr.es