Physical Fitness of Japanese Youth evaluated by Kraus-Weber Test

Abstract

The Kraus-Weber Test was newly administered to 3247 boys and girls (6 - 16 years of age) of the middle and midwest Japan, whose body height, weight and sitting height were greater than the Japanese in 1955. By comparing the present data with those reported by Noguchi et al (on Japanese in 1955) and by Kraus and Hirschland (on American and European in 1954) the following result was obtained. 1) Of the subjects tested, 58.6% failed in one test item, 35.1% in two items and 5.5% in three items out of six items. No significant differences were observed between the samples collected at different districts and schools. 2) The over-all (test) failure (%) has shown to decrease with age, drastically at the ages of 6 - 9. This decrement with age was entirely due to decrement in the strength (test) failure (%) and not due to the flexibility (test) failure (%). 3) This over-all failure was less (i.e., better) than those of the former Japanese and American at any age levels, but more (i.e., worse) than that of European at the ages of 6 - 8. Therefore, at the ages from 9-16, the present Japanese youth was found to be best fit among the data compared above. 4) In the strength failure (%) the present sample was better than the former Japanese and much better than the American except 6 years old, but worse than the European of the ages 6 - 10 (about the same after the age 11). 5) In the flexibility failure (%), the present and the former Japanese, being about the same, were slightly better than the European and much better than the American. From these results the present status in the fitness of Japanese Youth was discussed.