Effects of a school based exercise program on children's resistance and flexibility

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Exercise Science
• Sports Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Childhood physical activity is crucial for musculoskeletal development.
• Sedentary lifestyles pose risks to children's physical health.
• Assessing core strength and flexibility in youth is important for injury prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the short-term effects of a 6-week exercise program on schoolchildren.
• To evaluate changes in abdominal and back muscle resistance and hamstring flexibility.
• To determine the efficacy of a combined exercise intervention in a pediatric population.

Main Methods:

• Fifty-eight healthy schoolchildren were randomized into experimental and control groups.
• The experimental group participated in a 6-week program (2 sessions/week, 50 min/session) including aerobic exercises, resistance training, and stretching.
• Outcomes were measured using the Kraus-Weber test, modified Biering-Sørensen test, and sit and reach test, analyzed via mixed-design ANOVA.

Main Results:

• The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in back muscle resistance (P=0.018) and hamstring flexibility (P=0.017).
• No significant improvement was observed in abdominal muscle resistance in the experimental group.
• Significant interactions between group and time indicated the exercise program's specific effects.

Conclusions:

• A 6-week exercise intervention effectively enhances back muscle strength and hamstring flexibility in schoolchildren.
• The program did not yield significant improvements in abdominal muscle resistance.
• Targeted exercise programs can positively impact specific components of physical fitness in children.