. 2020 Jan 1;32(1):v32i1a8158. doi: 10.17159/2078-516X/2020/v32i1a8158

Table 3.

Comparison of physical fitness parameters, based on children’s age, sex and socio-economic status amongst the study population from quintile three primary schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay region

	Age

	8–9 years (n=550)		10–15 years (n=415)

	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	F	p	η²

Flexibility (cm)	31.9	5.7	30.3	6.2	16.3	<0.001	0.018
Upper body muscular strength (kg)	11.3	2.8	13.1	3.2	79.9	<0.001	0.082
Lower body muscular strength (cm)	120.6	19.0	128.2	19.9	33.4	<0.001	0.036
CRF (VO₂ max, mL⁻¹kg⁻¹min⁻¹)	49.4	3.9	48.8	4.8	4.2	0.042	0.005
BMI (kg/m²)	17.0	3.0	17.0	3.0	0.0	0.994	0.000

	Sex

	Boys (n=498)		Girls (n=467)

	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	F	p	η²

Flexibility (cm)	29.7	5.8	32.9	5.6	73.5	<0.001	0.076
Upper body muscular strength (kg)	12.8	3.1	11.3	2.9	52.1	<0.001	0.055
Lower body muscular strength (cm)	130.6	19.1	116.8	17.8	123.3	<0.001	0.122
CRF (VO₂ max, mL⁻¹kg⁻¹min⁻¹)	50.9	4.4	47.4	3.4	174.6	<0.001	0.167
BMI (kg/m²)	16.8	2.7	17.2	3.3	4.0	0.046	0.004

	Socio-economic status (SES)

	Lower SES (0–7) (n=317)		Higher SES (8–9) (n=640)

	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	F	p	η²


Flexibility (cm)	31.1	5.8	31.4	6.0	0.5	0.502	0.001
Upper body muscular strength (kg)	11.4	2.9	12.4	3.1	18.4	<0.001	0.020
Lower body muscular strength (cm)	125.0	17.6	123.4	20.7	1.2	0.269	0.001
CRF (VO₂ max, mL⁻¹kg⁻¹min⁻¹)	49.0	4.4	49.2	4.2	0.5	0.468	0.001
BMI (kg/m2)	16.4	2.7	17.3	3.1	21.2	<0.001	0.022

CRF, cardiorespiratory fitness; BMI, body mass index