About this Research Topic
In 1912, in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, W.M. Leonard warned that the new invention, the automobile, would lead to reduced physical activity and thus less physical fitness among adults. In the years to come, adolescents and children have also been included in this scenario.
Dyrstad, Berg, and Tjelta suggested that the fitness of Norwegian high school students declined by approximately 8% over a 20-year time period, and Tomkinson et al. claimed that the performance level of children in a shuttle run test has declined over a 20-year period. These are examples of secular data, providing valuable information about the long-term changes in aerobic fitness. However, a recent Lancet article by Sluijs et al. pointed out the lack of knowledge about adolescents and physical activity. Armstrong and McManus stated that “rigorous examination of the development of aerobic fitness requires longitudinal studies”. Armstrong and Welsman also noted that “longitudinal data provide a more informative interpretation of the development of youth aerobic fitness, but rigorous longitudinal studies are remarkably sparse”.
Thus, the goal of this Research Topic is to better understand how aerobic fitness and factors closely related to aerobic fitness changes as young people develop. We also seek to understand the factors related to this development.
On the basis of this gap of knowledge, the Topic Editors ask for scientific contributions to this Research Topic on the longitudinal development of:
• Metabolic health in children and adolescents;
• Aerobic performance in children and adolescents;
• Muscular strength in children and adolescents;
• Physical activity patterns in children and adolescents.
Dyrstad, Berg, and Tjelta suggested that the fitness of Norwegian high school students declined by approximately 8% over a 20-year time period, and Tomkinson et al. claimed that the performance level of children in a shuttle run test has declined over a 20-year period. These are examples of secular data, providing valuable information about the long-term changes in aerobic fitness. However, a recent Lancet article by Sluijs et al. pointed out the lack of knowledge about adolescents and physical activity. Armstrong and McManus stated that “rigorous examination of the development of aerobic fitness requires longitudinal studies”. Armstrong and Welsman also noted that “longitudinal data provide a more informative interpretation of the development of youth aerobic fitness, but rigorous longitudinal studies are remarkably sparse”.
Thus, the goal of this Research Topic is to better understand how aerobic fitness and factors closely related to aerobic fitness changes as young people develop. We also seek to understand the factors related to this development.
On the basis of this gap of knowledge, the Topic Editors ask for scientific contributions to this Research Topic on the longitudinal development of:
• Metabolic health in children and adolescents;
• Aerobic performance in children and adolescents;
• Muscular strength in children and adolescents;
• Physical activity patterns in children and adolescents.
Keywords: children, aerobic fitness, exercise, fitness development, children health
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
