Youth fitness testing in South African primary school children : national normative data, fitness and fatness, and effects of socioeconomic status

• Main Author: Armstrong, Miranda Elaine Glynis
• Other Authors: Lambert, Michael Ian
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Human Biology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3219

Includes abstract. === Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-214). === Overweight, obesity and declining levels of physical fitness have been identified as a problem in many developed countries (1). More recently concern has been raised as a result of the rapid increase in the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in developing nations ((2); (3); (4); (5)). However, little information is available at a national level for South African primary school children. In this thesis, the current nutritional status and baseline measures of physical fitness are established for a large and representative sample of South African primary school children from a range of ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Interactions between nutritional factors and physical fitness are also considered.