Faculty Publications

Overview Of The Hungarian National Youth Fitness Study

Document Type

Article

Keywords

FITNESSGRAM, health-related fitness, NETFIT, youth fitness assessment

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

Volume

86

First Page

S3

Last Page

S12

Abstract

The 2012 Public Act on Education in Hungary made daily physical education (PE) a mandatory part of the school day starting in the 2012-2013 school year. This directive was linked to a significant reorganization of the Hungarian education system including a new National Core Curriculum that regulates the objectives and contents of PE. The Hungarian School Sport Federation (HSSF) recognized the opportunity and created the Strategic Actions for Health-Enhancing Physical Education or Testnevelés az Egészségfejlesztésben Stratégiai Intézkedések (TESI) project. Physical fitness assessments have been a traditional part of the Hungarian PE program; however, the TESI plan called for the use of a new health-related battery and assessment system to usher in a new era of fitness education in the country. The HSSF enlisted the Cooper Institute to assist in building an infrastructure for full deployment of a national student fitness assessment program based on the FITNESSGRAM® in Hungarian schools. The result is a new software-supported test battery, namely the Hungarian National Student Fitness Test (NETFIT), which uses health-related, criterion-referenced youth fitness standards. The NETFIT system now serves as a compulsory fitness assessment for all Hungarian schools. This article details the development process for the test battery and summarizes the aims and methods of the Hungarian National Youth Fitness Study.

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

Original Publication Date

6-26-2015

DOI of published version

10.1080/02701367.2015.1042823

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