RT - Journal TY - JOUR A1 - Raja, Kavitha A1 - Gupta, Saumen A1 - Bodhke, Shweta A1 - Girish, N T1 - Fitness levels in school going children of 8-14 years from Udupi YR - 2014/4/1 JF - International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences JO - Int J Health Allied Sci SP - 95 OP - 99 VO - 3 IS - 2 UL - https://www.ijhas.in/article.asp?issn=2278-344X;year=2014;volume=3;issue=2;spage=95;epage=99;aulast=Raja;t=5 DO - 10.4103/2278-344X.132693 N2 - Background: Childhood fitness is an emerging area of concern as prevalence of childhood obesity is rising. Indian studies, have identified decreased fitness levels and increased obesity in urban children. However, studies incorporating a comprehensive fitness evaluation are unavailable. In order to establish appropriate school fitness programs, baseline fitness levels in the target children is essential. Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate health and performance related fitness levels of school going children between the ages of 8 and 14 years old. Settings and Design: Schools from Udupi Taluk, observational design. Materials and Methods: Fitness testing battery adapted from Presidential fitness challenge. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics, parametric tests of comparison, and correlation were carried out using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: Children were divided into age groups consisting of 1 year age intervals. Reference values are guidelines given by President's challenge. Children who scored 25-32 points were considered as very fit; 17-24 as being adequately fit and 8-16 as unfit. Children from vernacular schools were more fit than those from English medium schools, with boys doing better (P = 0.01). Conclusions: From the results of this study, we can conclude that basic levels of health-related fitness are low among school children of Udupi Taluk, Karnataka. ER -