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An Analysis of Development Trends in Physical Fitness for Taiwan’s Children and Adolescents 259
(5) Cardiovascular Endurance
Table 8 shows that the performance in the
1,600-meter run for boys and 800-meter run for girls
aged 13-18 fell off in comparison with their counterparts
in Japan and China. On average, Taiwan’s boys
and girls are 100-120 seconds and 40-50 seconds slower,
respectively. This indicates that the cardiovascular
endurance for the Taiwan’s adolescents is far poorer.
Table 8
Results of 1,600-Meter and 800-Meter Runs for Students in Taiwan, Japan and China
Country
Taiwan Japan China Taiwan Japan China
Age
Gender
Male (sec.)
Female (sec.)
13 591.9 418.3 479.2 295.7 231.4 273.2
14 568.2 398.3 455.0 298.8 234.6 270.8
15 551.2 405.6 437.4 300.4 248.0 265.8
16 521.5 394.8 426.1 287.8 243.8 264.4
17 519.2 394.5 424.3 289.4 245.3 264.0
18 517.8 435.0 417.8 291.9 251.1 261.3
Note: 1. Figures for Taiwan from 2005; 2.Figures for Japan from 2007, and the test results in male students is
according to measured that runs 1500 m transform to 1600 m; the female students is according to
measured that runs 1000 m transform to 800 m; 3. Figures for China from 2005, investigative target
was urban children and adolescents, and the male students is according to measured that runs 1000 m
transform to 1600 m.
Source: Ministry of Education, Republic of China (2007c); Japan MEXT (2008); Ho Ling, Jen Hung (2007).
It is concluded that the performance in physical
fitness for Taiwan’s children and adolescents is worse
in the categories of muscle strength, muscle endurance,
cardiovascular endurance, and the BMI than their
counterparts in Japan, Hong Kong, and China, in spite
of the fact that the performance in flexibility for the
Taiwanese is acceptable. As poor physical fitness poses
a great threat to the health of children and adolescents
and research has proved the high correlation between
obesity and major chronic diseases, there may arise a
national health crisis in the future.
2. Strategies for Physical Fitness Development
for Children and Adolescents
Physical education in school paves the way for lifelong
exercise. All major activities for the promotion
of physical fitness are carried out in school. As physical
fitness for schoolchildren and adolescents has been on a
downward trend, the importance of PE in school has
been constantly emphasized. The following are the
strategies for the improvement of physical fitness
adopted in Japan, the United States, and Taiwan.
(1) Physical Fitness Development Strategy for Japanese
Children and Adolescents
The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology has proclaimed “four
visions” for the improvement of physical education.
One of them is for the promotion of physical education
teacher’s capability of guidance. In Japan, training PE
teachers is strictly regulated by law. Trainees have to
follow a set of standard curricula for professionalism
(Lin Tao, Chang Mei-chiang, and Chao Li-pin, 2007), a
practice that can help ensure the quality of teachers and