Research has shown that social correlates of physical activity play an important role in individual participation in physical activity or sport, hence their link with associated health benefits. However, in spite of the health benefits associated with physical activity, many children do not meet the daily guidelines of being active for at least 30 minutes a day. This study investigated physical activity, health-related fitness and social correlates among 284 adolescents (111 boys and 173 girls) who are part of the on-going Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study (PAHLS). Height, weight, skinfold thickness (triceps, subscapular and calf skinfolds), waist and hip circumferences were measured through the standard procedures described by the International Standards of Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and percentage body fat (%BF) were used as measures of body composition. Health-related physical fitness (HRPF) was determined by measuring cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility using standardised tests according to the EUROFIT (1988) test protocol. The standardised International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Short form) and Social Support for Physical Activity questionnaire were used to gather information on participation in physical activity and social correlates for physical activity respectively. The results show that 29.6% of the adolescents were underweight and 26.4% overweight. Girls were significantly (p<0.05) fatter (%BF and BMI) and shorter than the boys. A significant gender difference (p<0.05) was also observed in WHR. Thirty four percent (34%) participated in low PA with 35% in high PA. Boys were significantly (z-4.52; p=0.000) more highly active compared to the girls. Boys measured significantly higher than girls (p<0.05) in SBJ, BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • V O . Adolescents’ participation in physical activity was affected by ‘lack of support by friends’, ‘encouragement by friends or family members’ and ‘lack of support during engagement in physical activity’. A significant difference (p<0.05) was found between boys and girls regarding ‘friends’ encouragement to do physical activity or sports’, ‘participation in physical activity or sports with friends’ and ‘friends’ confirmation that the participant is doing a good job at physical activity’. Positive correlations were found between Total Physical Activity (TPA) and all social correlates of PA, with a significant relationship between total physical activity (TPA) and ‘how often do your friends tell you that you are doing a good job at physical activity?’, and ‘has someone told you that you are doing well in physical activity?’ percentage body fat was negatively associated with social correlates of physical activity with a significant relationship in contrast with ‘friends’ encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’. A significant positive correlation was observed between WC, WHR, SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O and ‘friends’ encouragement in a typical week to do physical activity or sports’. Further significant positive correlations were found with WC for ‘encouragement by someone in a typical week to do physical activity or sports’; WHR, SBJ, BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘participation in physical activity or sports with friends’; SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘friends’ encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’; SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘someone’s encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’; BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • VO for ‘someone’s participation in sport with one’; SUP, predicted 2max • VO for ‘one’s encouragement to friends to participate in physical activity or sport’; SUP for ‘provision of transportation to physical activity or sport’; and predicted 2max • V O for ‘someone watching one participate in physical activity or sport’. SAR, on the other hand, was negatively associated with all social correlates for physical activity. It can be concluded that the adolescent boys in the study were underweight and significantly more active when compared to the relatively overweight and inactive girls. Boys also have higher health-related fitness and higher social correlates compared to the girls. Social correlates for physical activity were positively associated with participation in physical activity and healthrelated physical fitness variables. Thirty six percent (36%) of the participants indicated lack of transport as a negative factor for their participation in physical activity and sport. Based on these findings, urgent strategic public health intervention by all stakeholders dealing with adolescents, as well as more research studies in the area, is required. / PhD (Human Movement Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Research has shown that social correlates of physical activity play an important role in individual participation in physical activity or sport, hence their link with associated health benefits. However, in spite of the health benefits associated with physical activity, many children do not meet the daily guidelines of being active for at least 30 minutes a day. This study investigated physical activity, health-related fitness and social correlates among 284 adolescents (111 boys and 173 girls) who are part of the on-going Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study (PAHLS). Height, weight, skinfold thickness (triceps, subscapular and calf skinfolds), waist and hip circumferences were measured through the standard procedures described by the International Standards of Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and percentage body fat (%BF) were used as measures of body composition. Health-related physical fitness (HRPF) was determined by measuring cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility using standardised tests according to the EUROFIT (1988) test protocol. The standardised International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Short form) and Social Support for Physical Activity questionnaire were used to gather information on participation in physical activity and social correlates for physical activity respectively. The results show that 29.6% of the adolescents were underweight and 26.4% overweight. Girls were significantly (p<0.05) fatter (%BF and BMI) and shorter than the boys. A significant gender difference (p<0.05) was also observed in WHR. Thirty four percent (34%) participated in low PA with 35% in high PA. Boys were significantly (z-4.52; p=0.000) more highly active compared to the girls. Boys measured significantly higher than girls (p<0.05) in SBJ, BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • V O . Adolescents’ participation in physical activity was affected by ‘lack of support by friends’, ‘encouragement by friends or family members’ and ‘lack of support during engagement in physical activity’. A significant difference (p<0.05) was found between boys and girls regarding ‘friends’ encouragement to do physical activity or sports’, ‘participation in physical activity or sports with friends’ and ‘friends’ confirmation that the participant is doing a good job at physical activity’. Positive correlations were found between Total Physical Activity (TPA) and all social correlates of PA, with a significant relationship between total physical activity (TPA) and ‘how often do your friends tell you that you are doing a good job at physical activity?’, and ‘has someone told you that you are doing well in physical activity?’ percentage body fat was negatively associated with social correlates of physical activity with a significant relationship in contrast with ‘friends’ encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’. A significant positive correlation was observed between WC, WHR, SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O and ‘friends’ encouragement in a typical week to do physical activity or sports’. Further significant positive correlations were found with WC for ‘encouragement by someone in a typical week to do physical activity or sports’; WHR, SBJ, BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘participation in physical activity or sports with friends’; SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘friends’ encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’; SBJ, SUP, predicted 2max • V O for ‘someone’s encouragement that one is doing a good job at physical activity’; BAH, SUP, predicted 2max • VO for ‘someone’s participation in sport with one’; SUP, predicted 2max • VO for ‘one’s encouragement to friends to participate in physical activity or sport’; SUP for ‘provision of transportation to physical activity or sport’; and predicted 2max • V O for ‘someone watching one participate in physical activity or sport’. SAR, on the other hand, was negatively associated with all social correlates for physical activity. It can be concluded that the adolescent boys in the study were underweight and significantly more active when compared to the relatively overweight and inactive girls. Boys also have higher health-related fitness and higher social correlates compared to the girls. Social correlates for physical activity were positively associated with participation in physical activity and healthrelated physical fitness variables. Thirty six percent (36%) of the participants indicated lack of transport as a negative factor for their participation in physical activity and sport. Based on these findings, urgent strategic public health intervention by all stakeholders dealing with adolescents, as well as more research studies in the area, is required. / PhD (Human Movement Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

It is well documented that behavioural and biological risk factors for Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle (CDL) such as overweight and high blood pressure persist from childhood into adulthood. CDL is considered to be a group of diseases that shares similar risk factors as a result of exposure over many decades to physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, smoking, lack of regular exercise, and possibly stress. This study assessed health-related physical fitness and risk factors associated with obesity among 1361 (boys: n=678; girls: n=683) primary school children aged 9-12 years in the Limpopo (LP) and Mpumalanga (MP) Provinces, South Africa. Anthropometric and physical fitness measurements were taken using the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) (Marfell-Jones, et al., 2006) and EUROFIT (1988) test batteries. Body composition measures included body mass index (BMI) (weight/height2), percentage body fat (%BF) and waist-to-hip ratio, respectively. BMI for age and gender was used to classify the children as underweight, overweight or obese (Cole et al., 2007), whilst %BF calculated from the sum of two skinfolds (triceps and subscapular) using the equation of Slaughter et al. (1988) indicated adiposity. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to categorise the children’s physical activity (PA) level as follows: Low (METs scores of less than 500); Moderate (METs scores from 500 to 1499) or High (METs >1500). In general, 75% of the children were underweight/stunted and 1.6% overweight. Frequencies of underweight, normal weight and overweight were 77%, 22.4% and 0.2% in MP and 72%, 24% and 3% in LP province. Boys were generally taller and heavier than girls. At age 10 the MP boys performed significantly (p=0.05) better in sit-ups (SUP: 20.5 ±5.4) than the LP boys (18.6±6.56). However, the LP boys performed significantly better than the MP boys in sit-and-reach (SAR) at ages 10 and 11. The MP boys performed significantly (p=0.00) better in SBJ (121.6±9.1cm) compared to the Limpopo (118.4±11.00cm) boys at age 9. Generally, LP boys were significantly (p=0.00) better than the MP boys across all ages. The PA results showed that 27.7% (377), 58.5% (796) and 13.8% (188) of the children participate in low, moderate and high PA, respectively. Children in the MP province had higher PA (28.6%) in comparison to the low PA participation in LP children (26.7%). Furthermore, 59.7% of MP children compared to the LP children (57.3%) participate in moderate PA. A higher PA participation rate (15.8%) was found among the LP than MP children (11.6%). The girls had non-significantly higher BP values (systolic: 112.94±11.28mmHg; diastolic: (79.40±12.80mmHg) than boys (systolic: 110.71±14.95mmHg; diastolic: (75.53±12.53mmHg) who had higher PA levels (METs =1286.72±317.47) than girls (METs =397.28±30.14) (p<0.01). A total of 81% (n=1089) and 19% (n=253) of the combined samples had normal BP and prehypertension, respectively. When controlled for provinces, gender and age, results indicated that BMI was negatively associated with systolic BP (SBP) (-0.54) (p<0.01), but positively correlated with %BF (0.133) (p<0.01), whilst SBP related positively with %BF (0.125) (p<0.01). The children’s PA level correlated positively with BMI (0.86) (p<0.01) but negatively with %BF (-0.67); weight circumference (WC) (-0.41); SUP (sit-up) (-0.22); and predicted 2max • VO (-0.17) (p<0.05). The high percentage of underweight and pre-hypertensive children in the study warrants an urgent need to periodically evaluate PA levels among South African children and design appropriate intervention programmes to alleviate concerns over body weight disorders and low PA levels in children, thus optimising health outcomes. / PhD (Human Movement Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

It is well documented that behavioural and biological risk factors for Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle (CDL) such as overweight and high blood pressure persist from childhood into adulthood. CDL is considered to be a group of diseases that shares similar risk factors as a result of exposure over many decades to physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, smoking, lack of regular exercise, and possibly stress. This study assessed health-related physical fitness and risk factors associated with obesity among 1361 (boys: n=678; girls: n=683) primary school children aged 9-12 years in the Limpopo (LP) and Mpumalanga (MP) Provinces, South Africa. Anthropometric and physical fitness measurements were taken using the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) (Marfell-Jones, et al., 2006) and EUROFIT (1988) test batteries. Body composition measures included body mass index (BMI) (weight/height2), percentage body fat (%BF) and waist-to-hip ratio, respectively. BMI for age and gender was used to classify the children as underweight, overweight or obese (Cole et al., 2007), whilst %BF calculated from the sum of two skinfolds (triceps and subscapular) using the equation of Slaughter et al. (1988) indicated adiposity. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to categorise the children’s physical activity (PA) level as follows: Low (METs scores of less than 500); Moderate (METs scores from 500 to 1499) or High (METs >1500). In general, 75% of the children were underweight/stunted and 1.6% overweight. Frequencies of underweight, normal weight and overweight were 77%, 22.4% and 0.2% in MP and 72%, 24% and 3% in LP province. Boys were generally taller and heavier than girls. At age 10 the MP boys performed significantly (p=0.05) better in sit-ups (SUP: 20.5 ±5.4) than the LP boys (18.6±6.56). However, the LP boys performed significantly better than the MP boys in sit-and-reach (SAR) at ages 10 and 11. The MP boys performed significantly (p=0.00) better in SBJ (121.6±9.1cm) compared to the Limpopo (118.4±11.00cm) boys at age 9. Generally, LP boys were significantly (p=0.00) better than the MP boys across all ages. The PA results showed that 27.7% (377), 58.5% (796) and 13.8% (188) of the children participate in low, moderate and high PA, respectively. Children in the MP province had higher PA (28.6%) in comparison to the low PA participation in LP children (26.7%). Furthermore, 59.7% of MP children compared to the LP children (57.3%) participate in moderate PA. A higher PA participation rate (15.8%) was found among the LP than MP children (11.6%). The girls had non-significantly higher BP values (systolic: 112.94±11.28mmHg; diastolic: (79.40±12.80mmHg) than boys (systolic: 110.71±14.95mmHg; diastolic: (75.53±12.53mmHg) who had higher PA levels (METs =1286.72±317.47) than girls (METs =397.28±30.14) (p<0.01). A total of 81% (n=1089) and 19% (n=253) of the combined samples had normal BP and prehypertension, respectively. When controlled for provinces, gender and age, results indicated that BMI was negatively associated with systolic BP (SBP) (-0.54) (p<0.01), but positively correlated with %BF (0.133) (p<0.01), whilst SBP related positively with %BF (0.125) (p<0.01). The children’s PA level correlated positively with BMI (0.86) (p<0.01) but negatively with %BF (-0.67); weight circumference (WC) (-0.41); SUP (sit-up) (-0.22); and predicted 2max • VO (-0.17) (p<0.05). The high percentage of underweight and pre-hypertensive children in the study warrants an urgent need to periodically evaluate PA levels among South African children and design appropriate intervention programmes to alleviate concerns over body weight disorders and low PA levels in children, thus optimising health outcomes. / PhD (Human Movement Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Title: Effect of individual intervention programme on selected components of health- related fitness to proband without previous movement experience Objective: The main objective of the thesis is physical analysis and diagnosis of individual, individual intervention program creation and subsequent assessment of whether and how personally leaded program can affect selected components of health-related fitness to proband without any previous experience. Methods: For the needs of this thesis several types of measurements were used. Body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis, postural stability - posturograph, laboratory stress test on a treadmill, terrain stress test on the athletics track, the basic movement patterns using diagnostic according to Janda, as a complementary test was chosen dynamometer to determine the strength of forearm muscles. Results: During the 16-week intervention changes occurred in many of the parameters. Individual intervention program has brought significant changes in body composition, specifically to reduce the ratio of ECM/BCM in the early phase of the program, but later was its exacerbation. Generally, the trend showed improvement in postural stability due to the generally realized PA. The intervention program did not demonstrate significant changes in...

According to research (Maher et al. 2007:450), participation in physical activity have health-, psycological, as well as physiological benefits for persons with or without physical disabilities. Participation in physical activity will also lead to improvement of physical fitness. Inactivity is associated with health-related diseases. It is therefore important to improve the physical fitness of athletes with physical disabilities to decrease health risks and to improve their performance in sport. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical fitness levels of 10 to 17 year old athletes with physical disabilies, in order to compile physical-ability profiles for spesific classes of participation. A second purpose was to compile exercise recommendations for specific classes of participation to enchance physical ability and reduce health-related diseases. A group (N=83) was selected by the coaches of selected schools in the Free State and Central Gauteng Provinces. Different racial groups [White (n=36), Black (n=46), Coloured (n=l)] formed part of this group. From this group, 56 boys and 27 girls completed the Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT) (Winnick & Short, 1999). For the analysis of the data, the Statistica for Windows computer package, 2008, was used. The physical-ability profiles indicated that most of the athletes have poor aerobic capacity, muscle strength and leg-, hip-, and trunk flexibility. It is further recommended to include 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercises in the programme. To increase muscle strength, 8-12 repetions of an intensity level of 50 - 70 % of the 1RM, 1 - 2 sets and 1 - 2 minutes rest between exercises is recommended. To improve leg-, hip-, and trunk flexibility it is further recommended to inclode stretching of 15 - 30 seconds. These recommendations will improve components of health-related physical fitness and functionality as well as decrease risks of developing health-related diseases. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

According to research (Maher et al. 2007:450), participation in physical activity have health-, psycological, as well as physiological benefits for persons with or without physical disabilities. Participation in physical activity will also lead to improvement of physical fitness. Inactivity is associated with health-related diseases. It is therefore important to improve the physical fitness of athletes with physical disabilities to decrease health risks and to improve their performance in sport. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical fitness levels of 10 to 17 year old athletes with physical disabilies, in order to compile physical-ability profiles for spesific classes of participation. A second purpose was to compile exercise recommendations for specific classes of participation to enchance physical ability and reduce health-related diseases. A group (N=83) was selected by the coaches of selected schools in the Free State and Central Gauteng Provinces. Different racial groups [White (n=36), Black (n=46), Coloured (n=l)] formed part of this group. From this group, 56 boys and 27 girls completed the Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT) (Winnick & Short, 1999). For the analysis of the data, the Statistica for Windows computer package, 2008, was used. The physical-ability profiles indicated that most of the athletes have poor aerobic capacity, muscle strength and leg-, hip-, and trunk flexibility. It is further recommended to include 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercises in the programme. To increase muscle strength, 8-12 repetions of an intensity level of 50 - 70 % of the 1RM, 1 - 2 sets and 1 - 2 minutes rest between exercises is recommended. To improve leg-, hip-, and trunk flexibility it is further recommended to inclode stretching of 15 - 30 seconds. These recommendations will improve components of health-related physical fitness and functionality as well as decrease risks of developing health-related diseases. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study compared the effects of a non-traditional and a traditional strength training program for adolescents on measures of health-related fitness and physical activity enjoyment (PACES). Male (n = 7) and female (n = 12) adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years registered for a community based program and volunteered to participate in the study component. Participants were assigned to a non-traditional training group (n = 10) utilizing kettlebells or a traditional training group (n = 9) utilizing dumbbells. Health-related fitness and PACES were measured at baseline and post-training, with an additional PACES measure at mid-training. Both training groups significantly improved several health-related fitness measures, with the only significant difference between groups being seen in KB swing squats. PACES significantly decreased from baseline to mid-training, and stayed constant from mid- to post-training, for both training groups. There was no significant difference between training groups on physical activity enjoyment.

This study compared the effects of a non-traditional and a traditional strength training program for adolescents on measures of health-related fitness and physical activity enjoyment (PACES). Male (n = 7) and female (n = 12) adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years registered for a community based program and volunteered to participate in the study component. Participants were assigned to a non-traditional training group (n = 10) utilizing kettlebells or a traditional training group (n = 9) utilizing dumbbells. Health-related fitness and PACES were measured at baseline and post-training, with an additional PACES measure at mid-training. Both training groups significantly improved several health-related fitness measures, with the only significant difference between groups being seen in KB swing squats. PACES significantly decreased from baseline to mid-training, and stayed constant from mid- to post-training, for both training groups. There was no significant difference between training groups on physical activity enjoyment.

Two important health issues that can develop during young adulthood are related to mental health (e.g., depression) and physical health (e.g., cardiovascular disease). A common characteristic for both of these diseases is low-grade and chronic inflammation, but inflammation is negatively associated with physical activity (PA) and physical fitness. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate how PA and physical fitness were associated with biomarkers for depression and cardiovascular disease. Participants included 41 undergraduates who were considered to be "physical fit" (n = 21, Males = 15) or "physically unfit" (n = 20, Males = 17). They completed a battery of physical fitness assessments (e.g., 20m shuttle run, body fat percentage, handgrip strength, push-ups, blood pressure, and waist circumference), a self-report measure for depression and stress, and wore an accelerometer for one week. Afterwards, blood was drawn to estimate CVD risk using biomarkers for metabolic syndrome (i.e., triglycerides, glucose, and HDL) and inflammation (i.e., C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6, interleukin-1b, and tumor necrosis factor alpha). The physically fit group had more moderate and vigorous PA, lower body fat percentage and handgrip strength scores, and performed better on the VO2max, curl-up, and plank tests compared to the physically unfit group. They also had a healthier profile for CVD (i.e., smaller waist circumference, lower triglycerides and glucose concentrations, higher HDL, and lower CRP) and lower self-reported depression and stress scores compared to the physically unfit group.