Correlation of physical characteristics and general endurance: A comparison of 7- to 19-year-old pupils between 1983, 1993 and 2003

Abstract

The study examined the correlation between selected physical characteristics of pupils (body height, body weight, upper arm skin fold) and a general endurance indicator for 1983, 1993 and 2003. It was predicted that changes in physical and motor development observable in the last twenty years have altered also the magnitude and direction in correlation between certain physical characteristics and the results of a 600-metre run. Multiple correlation coefficients between the 600-metre run and certain morphological characteristics for 1983, 1993 and 2003 proved to be relatively high with pupils of all thirteen age groups. As expected, the highest values can be noticed in the period of adolescence with morphological characteristics influencing the 600-metre run result by up to 25%. The average multiple correlation coefficient between the 600-metre run and all three morphological characteristics was for all age groups of pupils the lowest in 1983 but it grew in every following decade.