Ten-year physical fitness survey of students of the Kaunas university of medicine

Abstract

Assesment was made of the physical component of health-physical fitness. The Eurofit test battery allows to assess physical fitness as a complex component of health. These tests are sensitive, individual, and reliable instruments for assessing various principal dimensions of human body function. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physical fitness changes of students during a 10-year period. We assessed 2877 students of the Kaunas University of Medicine in Lithuania. The tests results were grouped according to the student gender and academic year. We observed that the tendencies of physical fitness were similar for both gender groups in the 10-year period of monitoring. Some physical fitness (strength, agility, speed, cardio-respiratory endurance) abilities of females declined. Only cardio-respiratory endurance and flexibility declined in males. Strength, agility, speed, and cardio-respiratory endurance of females and cardio-respiratory endurance and flexibility of males worsened in the 10-year period of fitness monitoring. Motor fitness (standing broad jump, hand grip, sit-ups tests), speed (plate tapping test), and agility (shuttle run:10 х 5 m.) results of males were stable. These changes could be linked to the low level of habitual physical activity.