{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T06:28:01Z","timestamp":1786343281573,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786320000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Physical fitness surveillance can identify students requiring early support, but evidence from vocational colleges remains limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This repeated cross-sectional study analysed standardised physical fitness assessment records from 7,163 first-year students in three independent admission cohorts assessed in 2023, 2024, and 2025 at one vocational college in Shanxi Province, China. Official total scores and failure under China\u2019s National Student Physical Health Standard were examined using descriptive analyses, quantile regression, logistic regression, and modified Poisson regression. Because BMI contributes directly to the official score, sensitivity analyses used a BMI-free motor-fitness score derived from the six performance-based components.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Official failure prevalence was 23.4% in 2023, 17.0% in 2024, and 34.8% in 2025. Compared with 2024, the 2025 cohort had a higher adjusted prevalence of official failure [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) 1.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64\u20131.99]. Median official scores differed modestly, whereas the adjusted 10th- and 25th-percentile scores were lower in 2025, indicating that the difference was concentrated in the lower part of the distribution. Weight-status associations were substantially attenuated after BMI removal, although overweight and obesity remained associated with low BMI-free motor-fitness performance (aPR 1.35, 95% CI 1.27\u20131.44, and aPR 1.64, 95% CI 1.55\u20131.74, respectively). Endurance failure was common in both sexes, and the high aggregate muscular strength\/endurance failure prevalence was driven largely by male pull-up performance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Official fitness outcomes differed across the three admission cohorts, with the highest failure prevalence in 2025 reflecting lower-tail differences rather than a uniform decline. Weight-status disparities in official outcomes were partly attributable to the BMI component, although lower performance-based fitness persisted among students with overweight and obesity. These institution-specific findings support entry-level surveillance and targeted aerobic and muscular-endurance support but should not be generalised to vocational-college students across China.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1850051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T05:31:14Z","timestamp":1786339874000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Admission-cohort differences in physical fitness, weight status, and fitness-standard failure among first-year students at a single vocational college in Shanxi Province, China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jing","family":"Hong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Education, Shanxi Railway Vocational and Technical College","place":["Taiyuan, Shanxi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S379","DOI":"10.1097\/00005768-200106001-00007","article-title":"Is physical activity or physical fitness more important in defining health benefits?","volume":"33","author":"Blair","year":"2001","journal-title":"Med Sci Sports Exerc"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.ijo.0803774","article-title":"Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health","volume":"32","author":"Ortega","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int J Obes"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsm.2008.056499","article-title":"Predictive validity of health-related fitness in youth: a systematic review","volume":"43","author":"Ruiz","year":"2009","journal-title":"Br J Sports Med"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"727","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-18097-6","article-title":"Effects of physical fitness on mental health of Chinese college students: a cross-sectional study","volume":"24","author":"Ma","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.2165\/00007256-200333040-00003","article-title":"Secular trends in the performance of children and adolescents (1980\u20132000): an analysis of 55 studies of the 20 m shuttle run test in 11 countries","volume":"33","author":"Tomkinson","year":"2003","journal-title":"Sports Med"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"478","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2017-097982","article-title":"Temporal trends in the cardiorespiratory fitness of children and adolescents representing 19 high-income and upper middle-income countries between 1981 and 2014","volume":"53","author":"Tomkinson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Br J Sports Med"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"China's National Student Physical Health Standard (2014 Revision)","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101560","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lanwpc.2025.101560","article-title":"Secular trends in physical fitness and cardiovascular risks among Chinese college students: an analysis of five successive national surveys between 2000 and 2019","volume":"58","author":"Cai","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Reg Health West Pac"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"984511","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.984511","article-title":"Trend in health-related physical fitness for Chinese male first-year college students: 2013\u20132019","volume":"11","author":"Dong","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-025-21613-x","article-title":"Secular trends of physical fitness for college students in Anhui Province over the past decade","volume":"25","author":"Sun","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0308483","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0308483","article-title":"A comparative study on the physical fitness of college students from different grades and majors in Jiangxi province","volume":"19","author":"Sun","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1814894","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1814894","article-title":"Trends and inequalities in physical fitness and BMI among Chinese college students: an analysis of national surveys between 2019 and 2023","volume":"14","author":"Sun","year":"2026","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1387247","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1387247","article-title":"Mental well-being and sleep quality among vocational college students in Sichuan, China during standardized COVID-19 management measures","volume":"12","author":"Gao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102627","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmedr.2024.102627","article-title":"The role of lifestyle and mental health in the weight change of higher vocational college students in Fuzhou, China during COVID-19","volume":"38","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"Prev Med Rep"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-025-21587-w","article-title":"Whose autonomy support is more effective in promoting exercise adherence in higher vocational college students-based on self-determined theory","volume":"25","author":"Yan","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"904506","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.904506","article-title":"Associations between socioeconomic status and physical activity: a cross-sectional analysis of Chinese children and adolescents","volume":"13","author":"Ke","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2457","DOI":"10.2147\/RMHP.S266891","article-title":"Association between parental socioeconomic status and skeletal muscle mass in Chinese college students: fitness improvement tactics in youths (FITYou) project","volume":"13","author":"Tian","year":"2020","journal-title":"Risk Manag Healthcare Policy"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"444","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-020-08517-8","article-title":"The association between BMI and health-related physical fitness among Chinese college students: a cross-sectional study","volume":"20","author":"Chen","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1186\/s13102-024-01024-y","article-title":"Associations between body mass index and physical fitness indicators among Chinese university students: a multicenter cross-sectional study","volume":"16","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2041","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-022-14548-0","article-title":"Associations between body composition and physical fitness among Chinese medical students: a cross-sectional study","volume":"22","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1334","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-018-6238-3","article-title":"Normal weight obesity and physical fitness in Chinese university students: an overlooked association","volume":"18","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.7326\/M16-2607","article-title":"Sensitivity analysis in observational research: introducing the E-value","volume":"167","author":"VanderWeele","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann Intern Med"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2451","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-20001-1","article-title":"The effects of a blended learning model on the physical fitness of Chinese university students: a cluster randomized controlled trial in basketball education","volume":"24","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1850051\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T05:31:15Z","timestamp":1786339875000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1850051\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"references-count":23,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1850051"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1850051","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"article-number":"1850051"}}