Analysis of the associations between directly measured physical activity and physical fitness in preadolescents : contextualizing the influence of urban vs. rural living environments

Sekulić, Damir (author), Rodek, Jelena (author), Rajković Vuletić, Petra (author)

There is an evident lack of investigations in which associations between physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) were simultaneously evaluated in urban- and rural-living children. This study aimed to investigate the gender-specific associations between directly measured PA and various measures of PF in urban and rural children. The participants were 126 children aged 9-11 years (49 girls) from elementary schools in southern Croatia. In addition to age, gender (male, female), living environment (urban, rural), and anthropometrics (body mass, height, and BMI), the variables included accelerometer-derived PA indices (obtained by GeneActic triaxial accelerometers) and PF tests (evaluating jumping power capacity, upper-body- and abdominal-strength, mobility, flexibility, and aerobic endurance). Vigorous PA was related to jumping power, upper body strength and aerobic endurance in urban boys (Pearson’s R = 0.34–0.36, p < 0.05) and with upper body strength in rural boys (R = 0.41, p < 0.05). The number of steps performed daily was associated with jumping power in urban girls (R = 0.42, p < 0.05) and with abdominal strength in rural girls (R = 0.42, p < 0.05). Vigorous PA was associated with jumping power (R = 0.44, p < 0.05), upper body strength (R = 0.39, p < 0.05), and aerobic endurance (R = 0.39, p < 0.05) in urban girls and with jumping power (R = 0.61, p < 0.05), abdominal strength (R = 0.45, p < 0.05), and aerobic endurance (R = 0.40, p < 0.05) in rural girls. Socioeconomic differences, cultural norms, and parental views on PA in urban and rural communities may explain the varying relationships between PA and PF observed in urban and rural boys. Further longitudinal studies are needed to establish clear cause‒effect relationships between PA and PF.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, prepuberty, sociodemographic factors, motor capacities, cardiovascular endurance, anthropometrics
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 35-51
• Numbering: Vol. 31, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180522
• UDC: 796.01
• ISSN on article: 1318-2269
• DOI: 10.52165/kinsi.31.1.35-51
• COBISS.SI-ID: 239523075
• Publication date in RUL: 11.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Kinesiologia Slovenica. scientific journal on sport
• Shortened title: Kinesiol. Slov.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za šport, Inštitut za kineziologijo, Fakulteta za šport, Inštitut za kineziologijo, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 1318-2269
• COBISS.SI-ID: 30681856

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Analiza povezav med neposredno izmerjeno telesno dejavnostjo in telesno zmogljivostjo pri predmladostnikih : kontekstualizacija vpliva urbanega in podeželskega življenjskega okolja

Abstract

Obstaja pomanjkanje raziskav, v katerih bi hkrati preučevali povezave med telesno dejavnostjo (TD) in telesno zmogljivostjo (TZ) pri otrocih, ki živijo v urbanih in podeželskih okoljih. Cilj te študije je bil raziskati spolno specifične povezave med neposredno izmerjeno TD in različnimi merami TZ pri otrocih iz urbanih in podeželskih okolij. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 126 otrok, starih 9–11 let (49 deklic), iz osnovnih šol v južni Hrvaški. Poleg starosti, spola (moški, ženski), okolja bivanja (urbano, podeželsko) in antropometričnih mer (telesna masa, telesna višina in ITM) so bile vključene tudi spremenljivke, pridobljene z merjenjem TD s triosnimi merilniki pospeška GeneActiv, ter testi TZ (ocenjevanje eksplozivne moči nog, moči zgornjega dela telesa in mišic trupa, gibljivosti, mobilnosti in srčno-dihalne vzdržljivosti). Intenzivna telesna dejavnost je bila povezana z eksplozivno močjo nog, močjo zgornjega dela telesa in srčno-dihalno vzdržljivostjo pri urbanih dečkih (Pearsonov R = 0,34– 0,36, p < 0,05) ter z močjo zgornjega dela telesa pri podeželskih dečkih (R = 0,41, p < 0,05). Število korakov na dan je bilo povezano z eksplozivno močjo nog pri urbanih deklicah (R = 0,42, p < 0,05) in močjo trupa pri podeželskih deklicah (R = 0,42, p < 0,05). Intenzivna TD je bila pri urbanih deklicah povezana z eksplozivno močjo nog (R = 0,44, p < 0,05), močjo zgornjega dela telesa (R = 0,39, p < 0,05) in srčno-dihalno vzdržljivostjo (R = 0,39, p < 0,05), pri podeželskih deklicah pa z eksplozivno močjo nog (R = 0,61, p < 0,05), močjo trupa (R = 0,45, p < 0,05) in srčno-dihalno vzdržljivostjo (R = 0,40, p < 0,05). Socioekonomske razlike, kulturne norme in stališča staršev do TD v urbanih in podeželskih skupnostih lahko pojasnijo razlike v povezanosti TD in TZ pri urbanih in podeželskih dečkih. Za vzpostavitev jasnih vzročnih povezav med TD in TZ bodo potrebne nadaljnje longitudinalne raziskave.

• Keywords: šport, predpuberteta, socioekonomski faktorji, gibalne sposobnosti, srčno-dihalna vzdržljivost, antropometrija