Physical Fitness Knowledge Differences Between High School Students by Ethnicity

Background/Purpose - Researchers have reported that African-Americans and Hispanics have significantly lower rates of physical activity and higher rates of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer than white and Asian populations in the United States (CDC, 2004; USDHHS, 2000). Physical education and health education curricula that focus on health and fitness concepts can help educate minority school children on ways to develop healthier lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed between high school students from different self-identified ethnic groups on rates of physical fitness knowledge measured by the FitSmart.

Method - The FitSmart (Zhu, Safrit, & Cohen, 1999) is a 50 item standardized multiple-choice test that measures rates of physical fitness knowledge among secondary students. Normative scores on the FitSmart range from .1 to 99. Several pilot tests were conducted by the authors, and different versions of the test were administered, to develop the final standardized questions for the test. The FitSmart format is divided into different content areas which are concepts of fitness, scientific principles of exercise, exercise prescription, components of physical fitness, effects of exercise on chronic disease risk factors, nutrition, injury prevention, and consumer issues. Different versions of the test were administered in various schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas to eliminate potential biases against any subgroups regarding the test. The authors did not state if their research revealed significant differences in physical fitness knowledge between different ethnic groups. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 303 students that identified themselves as African-American (39), Asian (33), Hispanic (62), and White (169). Permission for the study was obtained from the university and school district where data were collected. The nature of the study was explained to all participants, and they were informed the measurements would remain confidential. Student assent and parental consent forms were obtained from all participants before data collection.

Analysis/Results - A One-Way ANOVA analysis determined significant differences in physical fitness knowledge by ethnicity at the p < .000 level. The mean scores for Hispanics (53.4) and African-Americans (57.6) were significantly lower than the mean scores for white (76.3) and Asian (77.3) students.

Conclusions - Physical education curricula need to be developed that are more responsive and applicable to specific physical fitness needs of minority students. These curricula must do a better job of teaching minority students to value and apply fitness related concepts in their everyday lives.