Fisieke fiksheid, fisieke aktiwiteit en fisieke aktiwiteitspatrone van plaaswerkerkinders: flagh-studie

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the physical activity patterns, physical activity levels and physical fitness of 4- to 16-year-old children (37 children; 19 girls and 18 boys) of farm workers, living on a farm in the North-West Province and attending the farm school. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by a Tukey-post hoc-test, t-testing and the SAS-statisical program were used to analyse the data. With reference to physical fitness, their performance in the modified sitand- reach, handgrip (left and right), pull-ups, bent armhang, standing long jump and the bleep tests (Wood, 1997; Docherty, 1996; Brewer et al., 1988) were determined. The 9 to 16-year-old group also completed a physical activity recall (PDPAR0 questionnaire (Trost et al., 1999) to determine their physical activity levels and patterns. Body size and body composition were analysed by means of anthropometric variables (height, mass, BMI and sub scapular and triceps skinfolds). From the results it seems that the farm environment where the children grew up does have an influence on their physical activity, indicating a reasonably high (a moderate physical activity classification) in the 9 to 16-year-old group. The analysis of their physical activity patterns indicated that this activity levels could largely be ascribed to walking, daily chores, work tasks they have to perform on the farm, games they play and few TV viewing hours. With regard to the relationship between physical activity and physical fitness, no significant relationships were found. However, low fat percentages and BMI values were found, which may have affected their physical fitness.

Keywords: physical fitness, physical activity, children, farm worker, sosio-economic status

South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol. 27(1) 2005: 101-115