Enhancing Physical Fitness in Primary School Children Through Inclusive Sports Activities
(1) Background: The aim of this study is to investigate whether the application of adaptive sports programs, initially designed for children with disabilities, can have a positive effect on physical fitness and body composition in healthy primary school children; (2) Methods: The sample comprised 80 participants, equally divided by gender (50% male, 50% female), with a mean age of 11.5 (SD = 0.03). They were divided into two groups, an experimental and a control group, with an even gender distribution. The research lasted 12 weeks, with additional classes allocated for the initial and the final measurements. The Eurofit test battery assessed physical fitness; (3) Results: ANCOVA revealed significant group differences in body composition variables within the total sample and gender distribution (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Significant differences were observed in handgrip strength (HGR), flamingo balance test (FBL), shuttle run 10 × 5 m (SHR) (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and also hand tapping (HTP) (<i>p</i> = 0.01). Participants in the experimental group outperformed the control group, highlighting the effectiveness of the intervention program. Specifically, boys in the experimental group showed significant improvements in HGR and SHR (<i>p</i> < 0.001), while girls improved significantly in HGR, FBL, and SHR (<i>p</i> < 0.001); (4) Conclusions: The experimental program, which incorporates sports elements for disabled individuals, led to significant improvements in the physical fitness parameters of children.
Authors
- Bogdan Antohe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5044-402X)
- Nikola Aksović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5312-3456)
- M Anghel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0251-879X)
- Bojan Bjelica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5539-8210)
- Vasile Cătălin Ciocan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4357-0882)
- Tatiana Dobrescu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7397-7969)
- Stanimir Stojiljković (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8083-6079)
- Lucian Voinea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7576-3497)
- Nikola Utvić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7112-0726)
- Saša Bubanj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7548-3321)
- Daniel-Lucian Dobreci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2560-7293)
- Gabriela Raveica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-5146)
- Lidija Marković (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2068-8442)
- Radenko Arsenijević (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-3111)
Institutions
- University of Nis (RS)
- University of Novi Sad (RS)
- University of East Sarajevo (BA)
- University of Belgrade (RS)
- University of Bacău (RO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Children
- Published
- 2025-06-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/children12060758
- Primary Topic
- Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00