Regional Difference of Physique and Physical Fitness between Rural and Urben School Boys and Girls
Report I Physical Growth
1968 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 1-10
Details
1968 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 1-10
Iwate Prefecture is situated at the northern part of Honshu of Japan and its cultivated area is only 20 per cent of the whole area due to Oshu and Kitakami Mountains. Therefore, rural district of Iwate is one of the most secluded place in Japan. The inhabitants are poor, frequently attacked by cold weather in winter and isolated from cultural life. The author studied health and fitness of school boys and girls under these conditions. The subjects were 431 boys and girls belonging to 3-5 grades secluded primary and junior high schools. One thousand and five hundred boys and girls in Tokyo were contrasted. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Rural boys and girls had shorter stature and shorter legs. 2. Body weight and chest girth were also inferior in rural subjects. 3. Brachial girth and skinf old thickness which indicate nutritive status were much inferior in rural to urban subjects. This fact suggests poor nutritive life in the rural inhabitants.
