Impact of BMI on Children's Fitness and Enjoyment in PE

Background/Purpose: A number of studies investigated the relationship between children’s body mass index (BMI) and their physical activity levels and motor skill levels in physical education (PE) (Brussrau et al., 2011; Gao et al., 2011; Spessato et al., 2013). However, few studies have focused on the effects of the BMI on children’s physical fitness and enjoyment, two important factors in relation to children’s active engagement in PE. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the impact of BMI on children’s fitness and enjoyment in PE.

Method: Participants were 268 elementary school children (Mean_age= 9.78 ± 1.27 years; 121 girls). Participants had a 30-minute PE class every week. During data collection period, children played tag games in two groups in PE. Participants were categorized into two groups (normal weight and overweight/obese weight) based upon their BMI determined by the CDC’s BMI-for-age growth charts for girls and boys (Kuczmarski et al., 2000).  Fitness test was conducted in PE and included sit and reach (cm), long jump (cm), 2×25-meter shuttle run (second), and sit-up. Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (Kendzierski & DeCarlo, 1991) was employed to assess children’s enjoyment in PE.

Analysis/Results: Participants’ average BMI = 17.10 ± 2.40 and their average enjoyment score was 5.16 out of 7. Descriptive data also indicated that normal weight children displayed higher levels on sit and reach (2.63 vs. 2.22), long jump (148.19 vs. 141.90), and sit-up (36.23 vs. 31.45) than overweight/obese children, while overweight/obese children had higher levels on 2×25-meter shuttle run (10.98 vs. 11.17) and enjoyment (5.29 vs. 5.14) than those with normal weight. A series of ANOVA yielded a significant different for sit-up between normal weight and overweight/obese children, F (1, 188) = 4.74, p < .05. However, there was no significant BMI difference on other outcome variables. 

Conclusions: The findings of this study provide general information on school children’s BMI, fitness and enjoyment levels in PE, and the differences in fitness and enjoyment across BMI levels. In general, children in this study were physically fit, although normal weight children displayed higher fitness levels than overweight/obese children. Children demonstrated relatively high enjoyment in PE, despite of their BMI levels. This study augmented the literature on the impact of BMI on school children’s physical fitness and enjoyment in PE. Physical educators and health promoters may use a variety of sports and exercise activities to maintain children’s fitness and enjoyment levels in PE.