Gender and maturation differences in health-related physical fitness and physical activity in Turkish children

The aim of this study was to assess health - related physical fitness and physical activity parameters among children and to determine whether there were any significant gender and maturation differences. A total of 853 Turkish school children comprised of male prepubertal (n=212), female prepubertal (n=199), male pubertal (n=222) and female pubertal (n=218) children selected from the suburban schools of the Anatolian district of Istanbul were enrolled into this study. The health-related physical fitness properties included body composition, muscular strength, elasticity and aerobic fitness test and measurements. For estimation of the level of physical activity and daily energy expenditure the Bouchard's 3 day activity record was employed. The intensity of physical activity was divided into three groups with those having a MET of less than 4 considered sedentary, those with MET of 4-7 light while those with of MET >7 were considered to have Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA). The univariate 2 (gender) X 2 (maturation) ANOVA and co-variance tests were used to compare group means for body composition, physical fitness and physical activity. Evaluation of body fat ratio of the children revealed a significantly higher value for girls. The Max VO2 and handgrip strength was greater in the male gender while maturation differences showed a similar pattern favoring the pubertal period. The flexibility of the pubertal girls was significantly better than their male counterparts. The duration of physical activity was significantly longer in the males than female children. The duration of light activity among girls was longer than that of boys whereas the duration of MVPA in boys was significantly longer than that of girls. On the other hand the duration of MVPA among the prepubertal children was significantly higher than that of children in the pubertal period.