HOW IS A BOY’S PHYSICAL FITNESS RELATED TO HIS QUALITY OF LIFE? C. Y. Lin 1, C. T. Su 3, H. I. Ma 12 1 Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan 2 Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan 3 Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taiwan 1

Physical activity (PA) “Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.” (Caspersen, Powell, & Christenson, 1985) Type, duration, frequency, intensity Objective & subjective 2

Physical fitness (PF) “the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness without undue fatigue and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies.” (Caspersen, Powell, & Christenson, 1985) Health-related – Cardiovascular, muscle power, muscle endurance, flexibility Skill-related 3

Quality of life (QoL) Multidimensional construct defined as physical health, psychological state, personal belief, and social relationships; it reflects one’s self-perception of expectations and concerns in the context of the culture and its value systems (WHO, 1993) QoL instrument for children: child & parent reports 4

PA, PF, & QoL PA & PF PA & QoL PF & QoL 5

Methods 36 boys (9.16±.74 years) – Push-up – Sit-up – Sit and reach – 20-m shuttle run – Quality of life instrument: PedsQL One of boys’ parents – PedsQL 6

Methods PedsQL – Physical functioning – Emotional functioning – Social functioning – School functioning Composite score of 4 PF tests Pearson correlation coefficient 7

Results child-reported PedsQL (n=36) parent-reported PedsQL (n=34) rprp Total QoL 0.297* Physical 0.302* *0.033 Psychosocial Emotional Social 0.312* *0.047 School QoL=quality of life *p<.05

Conclusion In addition to PA, PF seems to be another important factor related to a boy’s QoL PA ↑ → Health condition/ QoL↑ PF↑ → QoL↑ – Physical & social functioning If a boy has his PF better, he can interact with his peers better → Girls ?? 9

Thanks for your attention ~ 10