Top 10 research questions related to musculoskeletal physical fitness testing in children and adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to bring attention to the 10 most pressing questions relevant to musculoskeletal physical fitness testing in children and adolescents. The goal is to stimulate research to answer these questions. The most pressing needs include establishing definitive links between valid, reliable, and feasible field test measures of muscular strength, endurance, power, and flexibility and health risk factors/markers in children and adolescents; determining the effects of exercise training on these relationships; and documenting the tracking of these relationships. The role of flexibility in health-related physical fitness (HRPF) needs to be carefully and specifically examined. Although body weight/composition is a separate component of health-related fitness, it is also a factor that can influence the performance of musculoskeletal test items. The role of body weight, body fat, and central adiposity and the possibility of adjustment of tests results are important research questions. Several questions relate to which field tests are best for use in schools. Finally, actual health-related criterion-referenced cutoff values need to be developed. In conclusion, more quality research is needed to firmly establish the musculoskeletal area for HRPF in youth.