An Examination of the Relationship Between Aerobic Fitness Level and Bodymass Index in 8 to 12 Year Old Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test performance (aerobic fitness) and body mass index (BMI) among minority elementary school children of low socio-economic level in a physical education and sport program. Participants included 75 students in grades 3-6 (38 boys and 37 girls). A physician’s balance beam and a stadiometer (Holtain, UK) with the sliding vertical bar and hinged horizontal head lever were used to measure children’s weight and height. Then Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by dividing the children’s body weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. To examine relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test and BMI, the Pearson product-moment coefficients of correlation and a simple regression were computed. The results indicated that the relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test and BMI was low, negative but statistically significant (r = -.281, p < .01), suggesting that a portion of this total variance may be explained by these measures. Low correlation and regression levels in this study indicate that other studies should be performed to examine such a relationship.