The cognitive component of Health-Related Fitness (HRF) is particularly important for the student population and plays a significant role in promoting a healthy lifestyle and physical activity. This research aims to analyze the level of HRF knowledge of fifth and sixth-grade elementary school students in relation to gender, grade, and participation in sports. The sample consisted of 222 fifth and sixth grade students at elementary school of both sexes (110 girls), selected at random from different classes of the four elementary schools. The HRF knowledge assessment was done with a questionnaire having 28 questions with four answer options, one of which was correct. Students achieved 40.14% correct responses (Mean=11.24±3.39). A statistically significant difference in the HRF test was found between students of different grades (p=0.038) and different levels of participation in sports (p=0.001). The cluster analysis based on the HRF questionnaire identified two characteristic clusters of students. The first cluster consisted of students with an average score of 8.57±1.83 points (30.6% correct answers). This cluster contained a higher proportion of students who were predominantly male, attended the fifth grade, and relatively more represented non-participate in sports. The second cluster consisted of students with an average score of 14.17±1.91 (50.6% correct answers), who participated in sports and were predominantly female. These results are a cause for concern and indicate the necessity of focusing more intently on the acquisition of the necessary knowledge about HRF among elementary school-age students and their greater involvement in sports activities.
Chaput, J.-P., Willumsen, J., Bull, F., Chou, R., Ekelund, U., Firth, J., Jago, R., Ortega, F. B., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2020). 2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5–17 years: summary of the evidence. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-01037-z
Chen, S., Liu, Y., & Schaben, J. (2017). To Move More and Sit Less: Does Physical Activity/Fitness Knowledge Matter in Youth? Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 36(2), 142–151. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2016-0137
Chen, W., Hammond-Bennett, A., Hypnar, A., & Mason, S. (2018). Health-related physical fitness and physical activity in elementary school students. BMC Public Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5107-4
Cornish, K., Fox, G., Fyfe, T., Koopmans, E., Pousette, A., & Pelletier, C. A. (2020). Understanding physical literacy in the context of health: a rapid scoping review. BMC Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09583-8
Cvejic, D., & Ostojić, S. (2018). EFFECTS OF THE FITT PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport, 15(3), 437. https://doi.org/10.22190/fupes1703437c
ERICKSON, K. I., HILLMAN, C., STILLMAN, C. M., BALLARD, R. M., BLOODGOOD, B., CONROY, D. E., MACKO, R., MARQUEZ, D. X., PETRUZZELLO, S. J., & POWELL, K. E. (2019). Physical Activity, Cognition, and Brain Outcomes: A Review of the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 51(6), 1242–1251. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001936
Field, S., & Temple, V. (2017). The Relationship between Fundamental Motor Skill Proficiency and Participation in Organized Sports and Active Recreation in Middle Childhood. Sports, 5(2), 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports5020043
Guthold, R., Stevens, G. A., Riley, L. M., & Bull, F. C. (2020). Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(19)30323-2
Haible, S., Volk, C., Demetriou, Y., Höner, O., Thiel, A., & Sudeck, G. (2019). Physical Activity-Related Health Competence, Physical Activity, and Physical Fitness: Analysis of Control Competence for the Self-Directed Exercise of Adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010039
Hodges, M., Hodges Kulinna, P., & Lee, C. (2014). Teaching healthy behaviour knowledge in primary school physical education. Biomedical Human Kinetics, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/bhk-2014-0006
Hodges, M., Lee, C., Lorenz, K. A., & Cipriani, D. (2015). Review of the PE Metrics cognitive assessment tool for fifth grade students. Biomedical Human Kinetics, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/bhk-2015-0017
Hodges, M. G., Kulinna, P. H., van der Mars, H., & Lee, C. (2016). Knowledge in Action: Fitness Lesson Segments That Teach Health-Related Fitness in Elementary Physical Education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 35(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2014-0102
LAMB, K. L., BRODIE, D. A., & ROBERTS, K. (1988). Physical fitness and health-related fitness as indicators of a positive health state. Health Promotion International, 3(2), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/3.2.171
Liu, Y., & Chen, S. (2020). Physical literacy in children and adolescents: Definitions, assessments, and interventions. European Physical Education Review, 27(1), 96–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336x20925502
Marković, L., Đorđić, V., Trajković, N., Božić, P., Halaši, S., Cvejić, D., & Ostojić, S. M. (2021). Childhood Obesity in Serbia on the Rise. Children, 8(5), 409. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050409
Mateo-Orcajada, A., González-Gálvez, N., Abenza-Cano, L., & Vaquero-Cristóbal, R. (2022). Differences in Physical Fitness and Body Composition Between Active and Sedentary Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(2), 177–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01552-7
Miličković, V., & Krneta, Ž. (2025). Characteristics of the Health-Related Physical Fitness Questionnaire: Serbian version. Exercise and Quality of Life, 17(1), 101–110. https://doi.org/10.31382/eqol.250611
Norris, E., van Steen, T., Direito, A., & Stamatakis, E. (2019). Physically active lessons in schools and their impact on physical activity, educational, health and cognition outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(14), 826–838. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-100502
Ortega, F. B., Cadenas-Sánchez, C., Sánchez-Delgado, G., Mora-González, J., Martínez-Téllez, B., Artero, E. G., Castro-Piñero, J., Labayen, I., Chillón, P., Löf, M., & Ruiz, J. R. (2014). Systematic Review and Proposal of a Field-Based Physical Fitness-Test Battery in Preschool Children: The PREFIT Battery. Sports Medicine, 45(4), 533–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0281-8
Rodríguez-Rodríguez, F., Cristi-Montero, C., & Castro-Piñero, J. (2020). Physical Activity Levels of Chilean Children in a National School Intervention Programme. A Quasi-Experimental Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4529. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124529
(N.d.). https://doi.org/10.31382/20261210
Tapia-Serrano, M. A., Sevil-Serrano, J., Sánchez-Miguel, P. A., López-Gil, J. F., Tremblay, M. S., & García-Hermoso, A. (2022). Prevalence of meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines from pre-school to adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis including 387,437 participants and 23 countries. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 11(4), 427–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2022.01.005
Whitehead, M. (2013). The history and development of physical literacy. ICSSPE Bulletin, 21–27.
Whitehead, M. (2019). Definition of physical literacy: Developments and issues. 8–18.
Wintle, J. (2022). Physical Education and Physical Activity Promotion: Lifestyle Sports as Meaningful Experiences. Education Sciences, 12(3), 181. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12030181
Woessner, M. N., Tacey, A., Levinger-Limor, A., Parker, A. G., Levinger, P., & Levinger, I. (2021). The Evolution of Technology and Physical Inactivity: The Good, the Bad, and the Way Forward. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.655491
Zhang, T., Chen, A., Chen, S., Hong, D., Loflin, J., & Ennis, C. (2014). Constructing cardiovascular fitness knowledge in physical education. European Physical Education Review, 20(4), 425–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336x14524865
