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Teich P, Golle K, Kliegl R. Association between time of assessment within a school year and physical fitness of primary school children. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11500. [PMID: 38769417 PMCID: PMC11106081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61038-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The dissociation of effects of age, time of assessment and cohort is a well-known challenge in developmental science. We examined effects of time of assessment in the school year on children's physical fitness using data from 75,362 German third-graders from seven cohorts. Children were tested once either in the first or second school term of third grade. Tests examined cardiorespiratory endurance (6-min run), coordination (star-run), speed (20-m sprint), lower (standing long jump) and upper (ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and flexibility (stand-and-reach test). We estimated the effect of time of assessment using a regression discontinuity design specified in a linear mixed model with random factors child and school and adjusted for age, sex, and cohort effects. Coordination, speed, and upper limbs muscle power were better in second compared to first school term, with boys exhibiting a larger increase of upper limbs muscle power than girls. There was no evidence for changes in cardiorespiratory endurance, lower limbs muscle power, and flexibility between assessments. Previously reported age and sex effects as well as secular fitness trends were replicated. There is thus evidence for improvement of some physical fitness components beyond age and cohort effects that presumably reflects the benefit of physical activity in physical education and other settings. Effects of assessment time should be taken into consideration in performance-based grading or norm-based selection of children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Teich
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Kathleen Golle
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Reinhold Kliegl
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
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Hunter SK, S Angadi S, Bhargava A, Harper J, Hirschberg AL, D Levine B, L Moreau K, J Nokoff N, Stachenfeld NS, Bermon S. The Biological Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance: Consensus Statement for the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2023; 55:2328-2360. [PMID: 37772882 DOI: 10.1249/mss.0000000000003300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic performance because of fundamental sex differences in anatomy and physiology dictated by sex chromosomes and sex hormones. Adult men are typically stronger, more powerful, and faster than women of similar age and training status. Thus, for athletic events and sports relying on endurance, muscle strength, speed, and power, males typically outperform females by 10%-30% depending on the requirements of the event. These sex differences in performance emerge with the onset of puberty and coincide with the increase in endogenous sex steroid hormones, in particular testosterone in males, which increases 30-fold by adulthood, but remains low in females. The primary goal of this consensus statement is to provide the latest scientific knowledge and mechanisms for the sex differences in athletic performance. This review highlights the differences in anatomy and physiology between males and females that are primary determinants of the sex differences in athletic performance and in response to exercise training, and the role of sex steroid hormones (particularly testosterone and estradiol). We also identify historical and nonphysiological factors that influence the sex differences in performance. Finally, we identify gaps in the knowledge of sex differences in athletic performance and the underlying mechanisms, providing substantial opportunities for high-impact studies. A major step toward closing the knowledge gap is to include more and equitable numbers of women to that of men in mechanistic studies that determine any of the sex differences in response to an acute bout of exercise, exercise training, and athletic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra K Hunter
- Exercise Science Program, Department of Physical Therapy, and Athletic and Human Performance Center, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
| | | | - Aditi Bhargava
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA
| | - Joanna Harper
- Loughborough University, Loughborough, UNITED KINGDOM
| | - Angelica Lindén Hirschberg
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, and Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, SWEDEN
| | - Benjamin D Levine
- Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, and the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Kerrie L Moreau
- Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Aurora, CO
| | - Natalie J Nokoff
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Endocrinology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
| | - Nina S Stachenfeld
- The John B. Pierce Laboratory and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Stéphane Bermon
- Health and Science Department, World Athletics, Monaco and the LAMHESS, University Côte d'Azur, Nice, FRANCE
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Teich P, Fühner T, Bähr F, Puta C, Granacher U, Kliegl R. Covid Pandemic Effects on the Physical Fitness of Primary School Children: Results of the German EMOTIKON Project. SPORTS MEDICINE - OPEN 2023; 9:77. [PMID: 37578660 PMCID: PMC10425322 DOI: 10.1186/s40798-023-00624-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In spring of 2020, the Sars-CoV-2 incidence rate increased rapidly in Germany and around the world. Throughout the next 2 years, schools were temporarily closed and social distancing measures were put in place to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Did these social restrictions and temporary school lockdowns affect children's physical fitness? The EMOTIKON project annually tests the physical fitness of all third-graders in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany. The tests assess cardiorespiratory endurance (6-min-run test), coordination (star-run test), speed (20-m sprint test), lower (powerLOW, standing long jump test), and upper (powerUP, ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and static balance (one-legged stance test with eyes closed). A total of 125,893 children were tested in the falls from 2016 to 2022. Primary analyses focused on 98,510 keyage third-graders (i.e., school enrollment according to the legal key date, aged 8 to 9 years) from 515 schools. Secondary analyses included 27,383 older-than-keyage third-graders (i.e., OTK, delayed school enrollment or repetition of a grade, aged 9 to 10 years), who have been shown to exhibit lower physical fitness than expected for their age. Linear mixed models fitted pre-pandemic quadratic secular trends, and took into account differences between children and schools. RESULTS Third-graders exhibited lower cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed and powerUP in the Covid pandemic cohorts (2020-2022) compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts (2016-2019). Children's powerLOW and static balance were higher in the pandemic cohorts compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts. From 2020 to 2021, coordination, powerLOW and powerUP further declined. Evidence for some post-pandemic physical fitness catch-up was restricted to powerUP. Cohen's |ds| for comparisons of the pandemic cohorts 2020-2022 with pre-pandemic cohorts 2016-2019 ranged from 0.02 for powerLOW to 0.15 for coordination. Within the pandemic cohorts, keyage children exhibited developmental losses ranging from approximately 1 month for speed to 5 months for cardiorespiratory endurance. For powerLOW and static balance, the positive pandemic effects translate to developmental gains of 1 and 7 months, respectively. Pre-pandemic secular trends may account for some of the observed differences between pandemic and pre-pandemic cohorts, especially in powerLOW, powerUP and static balance. The pandemic further increased developmental delays of OTK children in cardiorespiratory endurance, powerUP and balance. CONCLUSIONS The Covid-19 pandemic was associated with declines in several physical fitness components in German third-graders. Pandemic effects are still visible in 2022. Health-related interventions should specifically target those physical fitness components that were negatively affected by the pandemic (cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed).
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Teich
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Thea Fühner
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Florian Bähr
- Division of Sports and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Christian Puta
- Department of Sports Medicine and Health Promotion, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena, Jena, Germany
- Center for Interdisciplinary Prevention of Diseases Related to Professional Activities, Jena, Germany
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital/ Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Urs Granacher
- Department of Sport and Sport Science, Exercise and Human Movement Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Reinhold Kliegl
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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Teich P, Fühner T, Granacher U, Kliegl R. Physical fitness of primary school children differs depending on their timing of school enrollment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8788. [PMID: 37258586 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35727-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that children who were enrolled to school according to the legal key date (i.e., keyage children, between eight and nine years in third grade) exhibited a linear physical fitness development in the ninth year of life. In contrast, children who were enrolled with a delay (i.e., older-than-keyage children [OTK], between nine and ten years in third grade) exhibited a lower physical fitness compared to what would be expected for their age. In these studies, cross-sectional age differences within third grade and timing of school enrollment were confounded. The present study investigated the longitudinal development of keyage and OTK children from third to fifth grade. This design also afforded a comparison of the two groups at the same average chronological age, that is a dissociation of the effects of timing of school enrollment and age. We tested six physical fitness components: cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed, power of lower and upper limbs, and static balance. 1502 children (i.e., 1206 keyage and 296 OTK children) from 35 schools were tested in third, fourth, and fifth grade. Except for cardiorespiratory endurance, both groups developed from third to fourth and from fourth to fifth grade and keyage children outperformed OTK children at the average ages of 9.5 or 10.5 years. For cardiorespiratory endurance, there was no significant gain from fourth to fifth grade and keyage and OTK children did not differ significantly at 10.5 years of age. One reason for a delayed school enrollment could be that a child is (or is perceived as) biologically younger than their chronological age at the school entry examination, implying a negative correlation between chronological and biological age for OTK children. Indeed, a simple reflection of chronological age brought the developmental rate of the chronologically youngest OTK children in line with the developmental rate observed for keyage children, but did not eliminate all differences. The mapping of chronological and biological age of OTK children and other possible reasons for lower physical fitness of OTK children remain a task for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Teich
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Thea Fühner
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Urs Granacher
- Exercise and Human Movement Science, Department of Sport and Sport Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Reinhold Kliegl
- Division of Training and Movement Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
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Fühner T, Granacher U, Golle K, Kliegl R. Effect of timing of school enrollment on physical fitness in third graders. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7801. [PMID: 35550561 PMCID: PMC9098412 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11710-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Timing of initial school enrollment may vary considerably for various reasons such as early or delayed enrollment, skipped or repeated school classes. Accordingly, the age range within school grades includes older-(OTK) and younger-than-keyage (YTK) children. Hardly any information is available on the impact of timing of school enrollment on physical fitness. There is evidence from a related research topic showing large differences in academic performance between OTK and YTK children versus keyage children. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare physical fitness of OTK (N = 26,540) and YTK (N = 2586) children versus keyage children (N = 108,295) in a representative sample of German third graders. Physical fitness tests comprised cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed, lower, and upper limbs muscle power. Predictions of physical fitness performance for YTK and OTK children were estimated using data from keyage children by taking age, sex, school, and assessment year into account. Data were annually recorded between 2011 and 2019. The difference between observed and predicted z-scores yielded a delta z-score that was used as a dependent variable in the linear mixed models. Findings indicate that OTK children showed poorer performance compared to keyage children, especially in coordination, and that YTK children outperformed keyage children, especially in coordination. Teachers should be aware that OTK children show poorer physical fitness performance compared to keyage children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea Fühner
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Urs Granacher
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Kathleen Golle
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Reinhold Kliegl
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Building 12, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
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A Better Cardiopulmonary Fitness Is Associated with Improved Concentration Level and Health-Related Quality of Life in Primary School Children. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11051326. [PMID: 35268421 PMCID: PMC8911456 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11051326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the physical fitness (PF) levels of primary school children and to determine the associations among PF, concentration, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a subcohort. PF was assessed in 6533 healthy primary school-age children (aged 6−10 years, 3248 boys and 3285 girls) via standardized test batteries. Concentration was measured with the d2-R test, and KINDL questionnaires were used to determine HRQOL. Analysis of variance showed an increase in PF with age in all PF dimensions (all p < 0.001), except cardiopulmonary fitness (estimated VO2max) in girls (p = 0.129). Boys performed better in nearly all PF dimensions, except curl-ups, in all children aged ≥7 years (p < 0.05). Concentration levels increased in boys and girls aged 7−9 years (p < 0.001), whereas HRQOL did not (p = 0.179). The estimated VO2max had a strong impact on concentration (β = 0.16, p < 0.001) and HRQOL (β = 0.21, p < 0.001) in 9- to 10-year-olds. Cardiopulmonary fitness is important for improved concentration and better HRQOL in primary school-age children. However, longitudinal data are needed to provide further insight into the intraindividual relationships of PF and concentration over the course of child development and set up targeted prevention programs.
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