Researchers from the University of Granada are leading a project called PREFIT (FITness assessment in PREschoolers), a multicenter Project in 10 spanish cities, which has proposed physical fitness reference standards in preschoolers.
Results have been published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, one of the best Journals in the Sports Sciences field.
Researchers have evaluated physical fitness in more than 3000 spanish preschoolers thanks to the multicenter Project, the PREFIT Project, leaded by the University of Granada together with the collaboration of University of Cádiz, University of Almeria, Universidad de Castilla La-Mancha, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, University Jaume I, Public University of Navarra, University of Zaragoza, University of the Balearic Islands and University of las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Physical fitness assessment
Do you know that it is possible to assess aerobic capacity, strength, speed-agility and balance in children from 3 to 5 years? Have you already performed the assessment and you do not know how to interpret them? Researchers from the University of Granada and collaborators, have developed a pioneer worldwide study in Spanish preschoolers (3-5 years), providing reference standards by age and sex groups. Another relevant finding was that the fitness difference in physical fitness already existed in 3 years boys and girls, and it increases as the age increase.
“Physical fitness assessment in children from 3 to 5 years in a challenge, but not for being the youngest are less important. From here arose the need to create a set of tests to assess the physical fitness of preschoolers and the PREFIT project”, says Francisco B. Ortega, professor in the Department of Physical and Sports Education at the Faculty of Sports Sciences, last author of the work, and principal investigator of the PREFIT project. “
Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, postdoctoral researcher, Project manager of the PREFIT project and first author of the work, affirms that “These results are of great help to all professionals related to health, sport and education as it allows them to identify those preschoolers with very low physical fitness and help them improve it to have good health in the future. “
Therefore, researchers at the University of Granada conclude that “the final message we want to spread is that we must be active to be in good physical fitness from 3 years-old”.
Signed this article, in addition to those already mentioned, Jonatan Ruiz Ruiz y Borja Martínez-Téllez (both from the University of Granada), Tim Intemann (University of Bremen), Idoia Labayen (Public University of Navarra), Ana B. Peinado (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Josep Vidal-Conti (University of Balears Islands), Joaquín Sanchis-Moysi (Universyt of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Diego Moliner-Urdiales (University Jaume I), Manuel A. Rodríguez Pérez (University of Almería), Jorge Cañete García-Prieto (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha), Jorge del Rosario Fernández-Santos (University of Cádiz), Germán Vicente-Rodríguez (University of Zaragoza), y Marie Löf (Karolinska Institutet).
Link to the original article (Pubmed)
Link to the original article (Science direct)
