AGE, ETHNIC AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL-FITNESS OF MIDDLE-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN EAST TEXAS

This research studied the health-related physical fitness status of bo ys and girls in Grades 5 and 6 in a rural school district in East Texa s in an examination of possible age, ethnic, and gender differences. A three-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted with gender , ethnicity, and age as the independent variables and nine physical me asurements as the dependent variables. Height was the most important d iscriminating physical measurement, with girls significantly taller th an boys at ages 10 and 11 and with boys significantly taller than girl s at age 13. Canonical discriminant function separated black children from both Caucasian and Hispanic children in height, weight, mile run, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure.