Scheduled for Research Consortium Psychology and Sociocultural Poster Session, Wednesday, April 26, 2006, 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Area I


Shuttle Run Performance in Hungarian Children

Kevin J. Finn1, Ferenc Ihász2 and Zsolt Szakály2, (1)University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, (2)West Hungary University, Gyor, Hungary

The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) is used extensively in assessing cardiovascular fitness (CVF) in children. This 20 meter shuttle run has been adopted by researchers on four continents (North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia) and thus suitable protocol for cross-cultural comparisons. Beets and Pitetti (2004) compared the performance (#laps completed) of 12-15 year old children in 10 different countries. Hungary was not among the countries. The purpose of this descriptive study is to report the average laps completed on a PACER test by age and sex of Hungarian children. The FITNESSGRAM audiotape was used to pace children while running in the gymnasium as part of their physical education class. The class was split in half to allow for partners to count the laps completed. Researchers stopped the child when they were unable to keep up with the speed for two laps. Children were grouped according to age (i.e. 8.0 – 8.99 years) and data was separated based upon sex. An Analysis of Variance was used to test for interaction between age and gender on PACER performance. A total of 441 children aged 8-14 were tested from three different schools (elite, village, suburban) in Gyor, Hungary. ANOVA indicated no significant interaction however simple effects gender (F(1,427) = 28.50, p<0.001) and age (F(6,427) = 14.70, p<0.001) were significant. Scheffe tests indicated significant (p<0.001) age differences in the two youngest groups (8-9 years) as compared to the three oldest groups (12-14 years). The mean (SD) laps for 8 and 9 years was 24.3(10.7) and 28.9(15.8) respectively. The mean (SD) laps for 12, 13, and 14 years is 48.1(20.2), 49.9(19.9), and 47.9(20.4) respectively. In addition, 12-14 year old children have significantly higher #laps than 11 year olds (33.7+/-16.4). Boys completed significantly more laps than girls (49.48+/-21.70 vs 36.61+/-16.58). The pattern of change in mean PACER performance was similar to results reported in U.S. children with performance improving with age for both genders and a decline in performance in girls after age 13 years. The mean shuttle run performances in 12-14 year old boys are similar to previously reported data in boys from central European countries (Slovakia and Poland) and higher than most reports of U.S. boys. The mean performance in 12-13 year old girls was higher than central European countries but similar in 14 year olds. Hungarian girls on average scored higher than U.S. girls in shuttle run performance.
Keyword(s): exercise/fitness, measurement/evaluation, multiculturalism/cultural diversity

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