Motor involution in school children: the role of walkability.

Abstract

Secular trend in aerobic performance has shown a very consistent decline in aerobic fitness levels between ages, gender and geographical areas, but it has not been linear over time. Factors that determine sedentariness and poor physical activity can be different: individual, socio-cultural, environmental and urban. The walkability (WA) in neighbourhoods is one aspect of these. The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the various individual and environmental factors that can explain involutions trends (2013-2019) in physical fitness that characterize the young population today. The study is based on a comparison of two wide samples of children (220 subjects per 2013 and 2019) regarding some benefits that facilitate WA and physical activity, the level of aerobic capacity (VO2max) and anthropometric characteristics. The results indicate that there has been over the years an investment in infrastructure, in line with the continuous global urbanization associated with a simultaneous significant decline of VO2max associated with a significant increase (only 2019) in benefits, with a lack of differences in BMI between 2013 and 2019, is not the only component that can encourage movement. Furthermore, significant negative correlations were found between VO2max and WA and positive between Benefit and WA.