Prepared by: Gregor Starc 
Date of last modification: September 2016

Purpose and justification of the indicator

The child's physical fitness is part of the assessment of movement efficiency and indicates the level of health-related physical fitness of an individual child. A low level of movement efficiency is an indicator of health risk, which can be the result of physical inactivity, excessive nutrition or a combination of both. The result of physical inactivity is the insufficient development of the muscular system and the deterioration of the physiological functioning of the organism, which, in combination with an inadequate way of eating, also leads to overnutrition or health-threatening malnutrition. In the event that the child does not reach a satisfactory level of movement efficiency and is not overfed, the cause of inadequate movement development may be an inactive lifestyle and body weight regulation by refusing food, but most often the cause of inadequate movement development is excessive body weight, which prevents the child from controlling his own body . Such a situation increases the risk of injuries in the child's daily life and lowers the quality of his life, and in the long term leads to serious risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
In Slovenia, around 96% of primary school children and adolescents are included in the SLOfit program every year. At the municipal level, through the early detection of physically inefficient children, effective and sustainable educational intervention programs could be established, which could be carried out with the cooperation of health workers and teachers. The local community significantly contributes to improving children's physical activity by creating opportunities for attractive and safe physical activity at school and in their free time. With programs for inclusion in organized forms of physical activity and spending free time, the local community also reduces inequalities among children.

Definition of indicator

The health-related physical fitness of primary school children and adolescents describes what proportion of children in each Slovenian municipality achieves the appropriate level of physical efficiency. It is calculated based on the four movement abilities that contribute most to reducing health risk: muscular endurance, aerobic endurance, muscular strength and mobility.

Unit of measure

Calculation of the indicator

The health-related physical fitness of primary school children is calculated as the average value of the standardized values of four movement measurement tasks, according to age and gender: - trunk lifting, - 600 m run, - forward bend on the bench, - all in a joint.
For each individual measurement, the average of all measured children in Slovenia, region, administrative unit and municipality is calculated. The average of the measured values for an individual parameter in Slovenia is taken as the 50th percentile, the municipal average of the measured value is expressed as a deviation from the Slovenian average. A value above 50 means above-average movement efficiency compared to the national average, a value below 50 means below-average movement efficiency compared to the national average.

Data sources for Slovenia

The SLOfit student database (Faculty of Sports).

Time availability

Men in literature

<ol>
<li>Kovač, M., Jurak, G., Starc, G., Lesko&scaron;ek, B., Strel, J. (2011). Sports education card: diagnosis and evaluation of physical and movement development of children and youth in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Faculty of Sports.</li>
<li>Caspersen, CJ, Powell, KE, &amp; Christenson, GM (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public health reports, 100 (2), 126.</li>
</ol>

Notes

Measurements for the calculation of the motor efficiency index are performed on approximately 96% of primary school children between the ages of 6 and 15. Children were measured in all municipalities that have at least one primary school in their area. Branch schools are considered in the municipality of the parent school. Municipalities that do not have a primary school are assigned the movement efficiency index of children from the municipality in which the school is located, whose school district the area of the municipality belongs to. Due to approximately 5% daily absence of children from classes, the data is not complete.

Health risk factors

Prepared by: Metka Zaletel 
Date of last modification: September 2016

Residents and community

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Date of last change: January 2018

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Date of last change: November 2019

Prepared by: Sonja Tomšič 
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Health status

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Aleš Korošec 
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Date of last change: March 2019

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Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Tina Lesnik 
Date of last change: March 2020