REGIONAL OBSERVATORY OF PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN SOUTHERN ITALY: A THIRTY-YEAR COMPARISON BETWEEN 1990-2020

Abstract

International literature showed that lower physical activity levels are associated with a progressive decline in physical fitness levels in children and adolescents over the past decades. The present cross-sectional study aims to assess trends in physical fitness levels among young adolescents in Lecce (Apulia region, Italy) comparing motor performances in 1990 and 2020. The sample consisted of 107 children attending the secondary school in Lecce in 1990, and 118 children attending secondary school in the same province in 2020, divided according to gender and BMI cut-off (normal weight and overweight/obese). Physical fitness assessment included standing long jump, medicine ball throw 2kg, 30-m dash and Cooper endurance running proposed both in 1990 and 2020. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare motor performances (1990 vs 2020) according to gender and BMI, and on total sample according to BMI; chi-square test was carried out to underline differences between Normal Weight, Overweight and Obese distribution in 1990 and 2020, and linear regression analysis was executed to investigate the variance in motor test explained by BMI, both in 1990 and 2020 groups. Results showed that: (a) sample in 1990 performed significantly better than those in 2020 in all of the above physical fitness test, independently for gender and BMI cut-off, (b) the percentage of overweight obese children has increased significantly from 1990 to 2020, and (c) BMI is a key factor influencing almost all motor performance in 2020.