Somatic and Motor Fitness Characteristics of Rural Primary School Girls in Ellisras, South Africa

南非鄉鎮小學女生體質和運動技能的特徵

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.

The purpose of this study was to measure somatic and motor fitness characteristics in 8 to 11 (N = 232) year-old girls in Ellisras rural area of South Africa. Motor fitness was assessed with the EUROFIT test battery: 10 x 5 m shuttle run, standing broad jump, sit and reach, bentarm hang, sit-ups, flamingo balance and plate tapping. Somatic measurements were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Significant increases were observed with age in height, body weight, girth, width, skinfolds and sum of skinfolds in the Ellisras girls (p<0.05). The girls' mean motor fitness performances were not significantly different across the age groups, except that standing broad jump and plate tapping (for ages 10 and 11) significantly increased with age (p < 0.05). In 8-year old girls height was significantly negatively correlated with plate tapping (p < 0.05). At age 11 the sum of five skinfolds was significantly negatively associated with motor fitness items (sit-and-reach, bent arm hang and sit-ups). The relationships between subcutaneous fatness and motor fitness were inconsistent across age groups (these ranged from -0.02 to -0.32). Similarly, no consistent pattern of differences was found in height, body mass and femur width. The results obtained confirm that body fatness impairs motor fitness in young girls.

本文旨在探討南非鄉鎮小學女生體質和運動技能的特徵，調查了232名8至11歲的學童，以EUROFIT標準量度她們的體適能及身體協調技能。部份結果指出學童的皮下脂肪與身高、體重等身體因素存在不穩定的關係。綜合各資料，身體肥胖阻礙女童的肌動控制適能。