School News
UNT faculty members partner with Denton ISD for fitness testing of middle school students
By UNT News Service
Feb 13, 2009

DENTON (UNT), Texas — Sixteen percent of females ages 12 to 19, and 18 percent of males the same age, are overweight, according to the recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. The percentage of overweight American adolescents has increased nearly 179 percent since 1971, the study reported.

Four University of North Texas faculty members are partnering with the Denton Independent School District to test the physical fitness of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, as mandated by Texas Senate Bill 530. The bill, signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry in 2007, requires third- through 12^th-grade students in Texas’ 8,000 public and private schools to undergo yearly tests that measure students’ physical performance and its impact on student academic achievement levels, school attendance, obesity, disciplinary problems and nutrition.

Dr. Trent Petrie, UNT professor of psychology; Dr. Scott Martin and Dr. Christy Greenleaf, both associate professors of kinesiology, health promotion and recreation; and Dr. Priscilla Connors, associate professor of merchandising and hospitality management, are testing approximately 5,000 students in Denton’s six middle schools through the end of the school year, after previously testing about 1,600 students in a pilot study. They will be testing students at Strickland Middle School March 4-6 (Wednesday-Friday) and March 9-13 (Monday-Friday), after working with students at Calhoun Middle School in January.

The study is being funded with a $30,000 grant from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The researchers plan to continue the research during the next two academic years.

The researchers are using the FITNESSGRAM developed by the Kenneth Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. The three test areas of the assessment are aerobic capacity, measured by a 20-meter run set to music; muscle, strength, endurance and flexibility, measured by sit-ups, trunk lifts, push-ups and stretches; and body mass index, calculated from height and weight.

In the pilot study, held in the spring of 2008, 25 percent of the students reached the “healthy fitness” zone on all of the FITNESSGRAM tests, which Petrie said is similar to statewide results.

“Research has shown that students’ fitness levels decrease with almost every grade,” he said. “In middle school, students face increased pressure about their weight and body image, and they have more schoolwork and may be involved in more extracurricular activities and have less time for exercise or playing sports.”

Texas kindergarteners through fifth graders are required to have 30 minutes of physical activity each school day through structured recess or physical education, while sixth through eighth graders must participate in moderate to vigorous activity for 30 minutes each day during four of six semesters, as set by Texas House Bill 1257. The bill was introduced to correspond with Senate Bill 530. A previous bill for daily exercise for kindergartners through sixth graders, introduced in 2001, did not require any fitness testing.

Greenleaf said the goals of the testing include promoting lifelong fitness.

“When kids get in middle school, they start to engage in social comparisons and become aware of body ideals for pop stars, as seen in the media. The girls want to be smaller and thinner than they are, and the boys want to be stronger and more muscular,” she said. “We want to show them that physical activity is good regardless of your body shape and size.”

Each student will receive a written FITNESSGRAM assessment to share with his or her parents so that they can determine physical fitness areas that need improvement. Greenleaf said students who were tested in the pilot program last spring and tested again this past fall are already learning.

“We’ve had some kids comment that they are doing more curl ups this year than they did last year,” she said.

Connors, who teaches nutrition courses at UNT and is a registered dietitian, said a small group of the students will also be trained to identify the food they eat during a selected day and their portion sizes. The students will be provided with disposable cameras to photograph every food or drink they consume, and journals to write down what they ate or drank. They will also carry objects that represent standard serving sizes as set by dietitians, such as an 8-ounce cup, and photograph the object next to the food or drink they consume. The students will then meet in a group to discuss their food choices with the UNT researchers.

Connors pointed out that younger generations “may have a different concept of traditional meals than older people.”

“They may grab a Pop-Tart and a Coke before going to school and not think of it as breakfast, even though many adults may call it breakfast,” she said. “They may use slang terms to describe foods, which is why we’re asking them to photograph as well as write down what they eat and drink.”

All of the middle school students will be tracked through the 2011-12 academic year, with their fitness assessments compared with their school attendance, academic performance and test scores, psychological well being and nutritional status. The researchers will then determine areas for interventions and work with the district to implement new programs that will benefit the students and their families.

For more information, contact Petrie at 940-369-7767. 

The University of North Texas is a student-centered public research university and the flagship of the UNT System. One of Texas' largest universities, UNT offers 99 bachelor's, 104 master's and 49 doctoral degree programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. UNT is the choice of nearly 35,000 students.

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