ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the status of physical fitness among children at ages of 3 to 6 years in Chaoyang District, Beijing Municipality, so as to provide insights into improvements in children's physical fitness. @*Methods@#Physical fitness test data were collected from children at ages of 3 to 6 years in Chaoyang District based on the Fifth National Physical Fitness Monitoring Program, including basic characteristics, body shape, physical function and quality. The physical fitness test results were compared among children with different genders and ages, and factors affecting the physical fitness were identified among children at ages of 3 to 6 years using a multiple linear regression model.@*Results@#Totally 988 children at ages of 3 to 6 years were enrolled, including 490 boys (49.60%) and 498 girls (50.40%), and 300 children at an age of 3 years (30.36%), 329 children at an age of 4 years (33.30%), 297 children at an age of 5 years (30.06%) and 62 children at an age of 6 years (6.28%). The participants had a mean height of (109.46±7.31) cm, body weight (18.98±3.82) kg, sitting height of (61.99±3.39) cm, chest circumference of (52.87±4.04) cm, static heart rate of (98.04±9.61) beats per minute, grip strength of (4.78±2.22) kg, standing long jump of (75.01±21.89) cm, seated forward bend of (10.07±4.51)cm, double-foot continuous jump of (7.54±3.84) s, 15-meter obstacle run of (8.73±1.66) s and balance beam walking of (8.54±4.72) s. Boys had greater sitting height, chest circumference and grip strength and lower 15-meter obstacle run and static heart rate than girls (P<0.05), while girls had higher seated forward bend than boys (P<0.05). There were significant differences in all test items among children at different ages (P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis identified non-only child (β'=0.064), non-overweight/obesity (β'=0.192), 2 hours and longer daily indoor physical activity (β'=0.156), exercise intensitby (adequate, β'=0.218; generally, β'=0.151), father's height of 170 cm and shorter (β'=-0.075), mother's height of 160 cm and shorter (β'=-0.081), and parents' educational level (undergraduate, β'=0.017; postgraduate, β'=0.084) as factors affecting physical fitness among children at ages of 3 to 6 years in Chaoyang District. @*Conclusions@#The body shape development is relatively good among children at ages of 3 to 6 years in Chaoyang District; however, the physical quality remains to be improved. The only child, overweight/obesity, duration of indoor physical activity, exercise intensity, parental height and parental educational level are factors affecting physical fitness among children.