{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:29:47Z","timestamp":1785407387926,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"0","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,21]],"date-time":"2024-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724198400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Low levels of physical activity in high- to low-income countries, including South Africa, pose a great risk of cardiovascular-related diseases.\n\nAim:\u00a0This study aimed to assess and compare the physical fitness profile among children.\n\nSetting:\u00a0The study setting comprised rural and urban primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.\n\nMethods:\u00a0A cross-sectional study was adopted utilising a randomly selected sample of boys and girls aged 9\u201314 years. Physical fitness measures were assessed using the Euro-fit test battery. Some parametric tests were used for mean comparisons of the various anthropometric measurements and physical fitness characteristics across demographics.\n\nResults:\u00a0The sample consisted of 870 primary school learners. The average weight and height of the sample were 39.29 \u00b1 10.34 kg and 144.06 \u00b1 10.81 cm, respectively, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 18.80 \u00b1 4.11 kg\/m2. The results showed that boys reported significantly high levels of physical fitness. Sit-ups (p\u00a0\u2264 0.001) and VO2 max (p\u00a0\u2264 0.001) significantly increase with age, while all the physical fitness measures were significantly higher among rural-based learners.\n\nConclusion:\u00a0Rural-based learners and boys generally had better physical fitness performance than their peers. The effect of gender and place of residence should be considered when designing physical fitness interventions.\n\nContribution:\u00a0This study adds to the existing body of knowledge about the effect of demographic factors on the physical fitness profile of children, where boys and rural-based learners are reported to be more physically fit than their counterparts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v29i0.2611","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,22]],"date-time":"2024-08-22T03:19:55Z","timestamp":1724296795000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Physical fitness profile of primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3155-0780","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Howard","family":"Gomwe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-7651-293X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lesego","family":"Phiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8960-7268","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chioneso S.","family":"Marange","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0184vwv17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Fort Hare"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 1991, Guidelines for exercise testing and prescription, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore."},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ammar, A., Trabelsi, K., Hermassi, S., Kolahi, A.A., Mansournia, M., Jahrami, H. et al., 2023, \u2018Global disease burden attributed to low physical activity in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study\u2019, Biology of Sport 40(3), 835\u2013855. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5114\/biolsport.2023.121322","DOI":"10.5114\/biolsport.2023.121322"},{"key":"ref2","unstructured":"Amusa, L.O., Goon, D.T., Amey, 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