Effects of the vacation period on the health-related physical fitness of schoolchildren

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify the effects of the summer vacation period on the health-related physical fitness (HRPF) of students in the 7th and 8th grades of elementary school. The study design is characterized as observational, considered short-term longitudinal. Physical evaluations were carried out before and after the summer school vacation period. The components of physical fitness analyzed were: Cardiorespiratory fitness - 6-minute running or walking test, body composition- measures of body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, muscle strength/endurance - abdominal endurance test (sit -up) and flexibility - test of sitting and reaching. As a statistical analysis, the paired t-test was used, adopting p≤0.05. A significant increase was observed in the body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and flexibility after the vacation period. However, there were no significant changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength/endurance. Furthermore, analyzing boys and girls separately, no differences were found for waist-to-height ratio and only girls showed improvements in muscle strength/endurance. It was concluded that the vacation exposure factor improved the levels of flexibility and increased the variables of body composition, not generating significant changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, while muscle strength/endurance improved only in girls.