Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Physical Activity in Michigan Charter School Students

The State of Michigan began to establish charter schools in the early 1990s. Although the physical education curricula at charter schools may differ from those used at other schools, there are no current data available to assess physical fitness/activity profiles of charter school children. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between physical activity and fitness and to compare charter school students to those attending a parochial school. Methods. Study participants were 4th–6th graders (n = 158) from three mid-Michigan charter schools (n = 90) and one parochial school (n = 68). Physical fitness was assessed with a shuttle run, curl ups, push ups, sit and reach, and skinfolds. Physical activity was assessed on two separate days using a modified one-day Physical Activity Recall (PAR). Results Correlation between number of laps completed in the shuttle test and physical activity was low, but significant (r = 0.20, P < 0.05) for the overall sample. Also, there was a significant negative correlation (r = −0.49, P < 0.05) between number of laps completed in the shuttle test and sum of two skinfolds (triceps and calf). ANOVA revealed a significant difference among the schools in average MET·minutes of physical activity (P < 0.05), number of laps completed in the shuttle test (P < 0.05), curl ups (P < 0.05), and push ups (P < 0.05). Conclusions. The weak correlation between aerobic fitness and physical activity, yet stronger negative relationship between fitness and fatness is consistent with existing literature. The two first-year charter schools involved in the project did not perform as well on the fitness tests compared to the more established charter school and the parochial school. Results indicate that a well-established physical education curriculum may improve the fitness profiles of students. Future studies should be performed as the charter schools continue to establish their curricula and student base. Supported by MSU Institute for Children, Youth, and Families