An Assessment of Provisions of Noncommunicable Disease Services on Health Promotion, Prevention and Control at Primary Health Care: A Case Study from Two Divisions of Bangladesh

Abstract BackgroundAlthough evidence suggests that cardiorespiratory fitness is the most important component associated with future health, little is known of how it is associated with multiple other physical fitness components. Since various physical fitness aspects do not change the same as cardiorespiratory fitness during childhood, it is necessary to establish possible associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and other physical fitness components in children. Therefore, the main purpose of the study was to test the associations between cardiorespiratory fitness with motor performance and body size in 7-14-year-old children.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we recruited 1612 children (52.5% girls). Health-related physical fitness components included: 1) body-mass index (kg/m2) calculated from height and weight (measure of body size), 2) sit-and-reach test (measure of flexibility), 3) standing long jump (measure of explosive strength), 4) sit-ups in 30 sec (measure of repetitive strength), 5) 10x5 shuttle run test (measure of agility) and 6) 20-m shuttle run test (measure of aerobic capacity). The associations were performed using generalized estimating equations with β coefficients.ResultsAfter adjusting for age, cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with sit-and-reach test (β=0.13, p<0.001), standing long jump (β=0.59, p<0.001), sit-ups in 30 sec (β=0.53, p<0.001) and 10x5 shuttle run test (β=-0.56, p<0.001) in boys. In girls, cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with body-mass index (β=-0.12, p<0.001), sit-and-reach test (β=0.21, p<0.001), standing long jump (β=0.25, p<0.001), sit-ups in 30 sec (β=0.36, p<0.001) and 10x5 shuttle run test (β=-0.40, p<0.001). No significant associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and body-mass index in boys were observed.ConclusionsAlthough significant, cardiorespiratory fitness is weakly to moderately associated with other physical fitness components, pointing out that such measure should be tested separately from other aspects of physical fitness in school-aged children.