Fitness characteristics of clumsy children

Physical fitness, in its broadest sense, has an effect on the ability to participate in physical activity. Some components of fitness also contribute to the control and execution of any given task. Measures of physical performance, considered important for the execution of motor skills, were taken on 17 clumsy children. A profile of the mean percentile rankings for the group is presented, eliciting the conclusion that the group had low overall fitness levels. Exceptions to this trend both in subject profiles and in the single fitness parameter of flexibility were identified. The exception to the trend of low fitness, in terms of parameters measured, was in the high level of flexibility at the hip, seen in the group. However, this result may well be enigmatic, as flexibility can be a consequence of a poor musculature.

There were three exceptions, in terms of subjects, which tended to be aberrations in deviation from the group trend. Two children had profiles which were not completely acceptable but may be expected in a normal group of children. Only one child had a fitness profile that would be conducive to a reasonable level of physical performance. Otherwise, the children either had a profile which was consistently low over the six parameters, or had some parameters at an extremely low level. Given that there are only slight divergences, it would still be reasonable to reinforce the initial conclusion that the fitness levels of the group were low.