Health-related physical fitness of schoolchildren from urban and rural areas of Santa Cruz do Sul – RS: a comparative study

Abstract

Background and objectives: Low levels of physical fitness are evident in children and adolescents, but few studies assess whether there are differences between living regions, especially in Brazil. This comparative study aims to verify if there is difference in flexibility, abdominal strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels in schoolchildren from urban and rural areas of Santa Cruz do Sul-RS. Methods: The sample consists in 230 children and adolescents, 107 males, aged 7-17 years. To evaluate the flexibility test, was used the bank Wells. Abdominal resistance level was evaluated by the maximum number of repetitions in a minute. 6 minute run/walk test was applied to assess CRF. Results: Among boys, more satisfactory results were found in the municipal school of rural compared to urban state school, with higher levels of flexibility (23.1 cm vs. 18.7 cm; p = 0.029) and CRF (1534.9 m versus 1275.6 m; p = 0.013) and lower BMI (18.6 kg/m versus 21.3 kg/m²; p = 0.027). The rural municipal school girls had higher levels of CRF compared to girls of urban municipal school (1197.3 m versus 1084.1 m; p = 0.006). Conclusions: Boys of rural municipal schools have higher levels of body mass index, flexibility and cardiorespiratory fitness in comparison to students from urban state school. The rural municipal school girls showed higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness when compared to students of urban municipal school.Background and Objectives: Low levels of physical fitness are evident in children and adolescents, but few studies assess whether there are differences between living regions, especially in Brazil. This comparative study aims to verify if there is difference in flexibility, abdominal strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels in schoolchildren from urban and rural areas of Santa Cruz do Sul-RS. Methods: The sample consists in 230 children and adolescents, 107 males, aged 7-17 years. To evaluate the flexibility test, was used the bank Wells. Abdominal resistance level was evaluated by the maximum number of repetitions in a minute. 6 minute run/walk test was applied to assess CRF. Results: Among boys, more satisfactory results were found in the municipal school of rural compared to urban state school, with higher levels of flexibility (23.1 cm vs. 18.7 cm; p = 0.029) and CRF (1534.9 m versus 1275.6 m; p = 0.013) and lower BMI (18.6 kg/m versus 21.3 kg/m2; p = 0.027). The rural municipal school girls had higher levels of CRF compared to girls of urban municipal school (1197.3 m versus 1084.1 m; p = 0.006). Conclusions: Boys of rural municipal schools have higher levels of body mass index, flexibility and cardiorespiratory fitness in comparison to students from urban state school. The rural municipal school girls showed higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness when compared to students of urban municipal school.