Percentile Values for Running Sprint Field Tests in Children Ages 6-17 Years Influence of Weight Status

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 81; no. 2; pp. 143 - 151
• Main Authors: Castro-Piñero, Jose, González-Montesinos, José Luís, Mora, Jesús, Keating, Xiaofen D., Sjöström, Michael, Ruiz, Jonatan R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis Group 01.06.2010; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age Differences; Age Factors; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Bones; Child; Children & youth; Classification; Data Analysis; Data collection; Exercise Test; Female; Field study; Field Tests; fitness; Foreign Countries; Human subjects; Humans; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Obesity; Performance evaluation; Physical Activities; Physical Education; Physical Fitness; Running; Schools; Scientific Concepts; Scores; Sex Factors; Spain; speed; Tests; underweight; Spain
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2010.10599661

The aim of this study was to provide percentile values for six different sprint tests in 2,708 Spanish children (1,234 girls) ages 6-17.9 years. We also examined the influence of weight status on sprint performance across age groups, with a focus on underweight and obese groups. We used the 20-m, 30-m, and 50-m running sprint standing start and running start tests to assess sprint performance. We calculated body mass index (BMI) using and categorized participants according to the BMI international cut-off for underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. Boys had significantly better scores than girls in all tests, except for the 30-m running sprint standing start and running start tests in the 6-7-year-old group. The underweight group had significantly better scores than their obese counterparts, whereas there were similar levels between underweight and normal weight individuals. The normal weight group showed a significantly better performance than their overweight and obese counterparts. Overweight boys had significantly better performance than their obese counterparts. In conclusion, the percentiles values of six running tests varied by age and gender. The findings indicated that underweight youth did not have poorer sprint performance, and the obese group had lower scores than their leaner counterparts.