Gender's Effect on a School-Based Intervention in The Prepubertal Growth Spurt

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Exercise Science
• Human Growth and Development
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Children aged 10-11 years experience significant, sexually dimorphic physical development.
• Understanding the impact of physical activity interventions during this prepubertal phase is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the effects of gender on school-based strength and endurance training interventions.
• To evaluate training-induced changes in physical fitness components in prepubertal children.

Main Methods:

• 125 children (58 boys, 67 girls) aged 10-11 years were randomized into strength training, endurance training, or control groups.
• Interventions involved 8 weeks of training, twice weekly.
• Physical fitness was assessed via jumps, medicine ball throw, 20m sprint, and VO2max.

Main Results:

• Both strength and endurance training significantly improved performance in all measured fitness components (p<0.05) for both genders.
• No significant gender-based differences were found in the magnitude of training-induced improvements in strength or aerobic capacity (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

• School-based strength and endurance programs are effective in enhancing physical fitness in prepubertal children.
• Interventions can be designed without gender-specific modifications, as both boys and girls show similar benefits.