Follow-up of participants in the Trois-Rivieres growth and development study: Examining their health-related fitness and risk factors as adults

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of daily physical educat ion in primary school on some indices of fitness (PWC170/kg, handgrip stren gth, sit and reach flexibility, abdominal muscle endurance, and balance), c ardiovascular health (lipid profile, waist-to-hip ratio), and anthropometry in the adult years. Four subsamples of participants in the Trois-Rivieres Growth and Development Study were examined: experimental men (n = 32), expe rimental women (n = 36), control men (n = 30), and control women (n = 35), some 20 years after completion of primary school. During 6 years of primary school education, the experimental group received 5 h of physical educatio n each week, whereas the control group received only the typical Provincial program of a single 40-min period per week. Experimental men and women sho wed a significant advantage over their respective control groups on the Fla mingo balance test, but scores for the remaining physical and health-relate d fitness tests (PWC170, handgrip strength, total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C , Apo B, triglycerides, blood pressures, waist-to-hip ratio and percentage of body fat) did not differ between experimental and control subjects. It i s concluded that participants in a daily physical education program during primary school do not display any advantage of physical fitness over contro l subjects as adults. This underlines the necessity of stimuIating physical functions throughout the lifespan in order to maintain physical fitness. H owever, the better result of experimental subjects on the balance test sugg ests, perhaps, that the school physical education program may have had a mo re permanent effect on some components of motor skills. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss , Inc.