HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS OF SCHOOLCHILDREN: THE FITNESSGRAM PROGRAM

The study identified the proportion of children and adolescents of the school population from Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil, who meet the health-related criteria determined by physical fitness components. The sample was composed of 2,849 subjects (1,457 girls and 1,392 boys), with age range between 6 and 18 years. The physical fitness components were assessed by a test battery of five items: back-saver sit-and-reach; curl-up; trunk-lift; push-up and endurance run (PACER), following cut off-points for gender and age suggested by the Fitnessgram. It was possible to observe with the obtained results that the proportion of schoolchildren that reached the minimum motor requirements established was not higher than 8%, and the global amount able to meet the health-related criteria was lower from 10 years of age in both genders. The data also show that great part of the studied youngsters demonstrate physical fitness components that could compromise a better health status, indicating the urgent need of implementing intervention programs addressed to the improvement of the practice of physical exercise in the school population.