A scientific study was undertaken from the medical standpoint in order to ascertain the influence on physical fitness of student using bicycles in attending school. Subjects selected for the survey were students attending the Ageo High School, Saitama-ken where school attendance rate on bicycles are said to be the highest in the vicinity of Tokyo.
A preliminary survey of actual conditions on 767 students by the questionaire method were made : the distance travelled in transit from house to school, age at which subject first started to ride on bicycle, kind of bicycle used, whether subject encountered any accident, experience in cycling as a sport.
From among the aforementioned 767 students, 105 students who did not belong to any sports club were selected for the study, and an additional 55 students, also, not belonging to any sports club and attending school on foot were selected as controls. Morphological and functional investigations were made, and also physical fitness tests and motor ability tests specified by the Ministry of Education were performed.
A. Results of survey by questionoires.
1.45-48% of the students attending the Ageo High School went to school on bicycles. The age ranges from which bicycle riding was started were 6-8 years in the boys and 9-10 years in the girls. Approximately 50% of students were able to ride on bicycles. (Fig. 1)
2. Approximately 60% of the boys were using light bicycles, whereas, 60% of the girls were using ordinary practical use type bicycles. (Table 3)
3. Approximately 50% of the boys had experience in cycling over 50 km., and approximately 30% of the girls had cycling experience before they were in the 3rd year of high school. (Table 2.)
4. Accident rates were 14. 8% in the boys and 19.1% in the girls. (Table 4.)
B. Results of physical fitness test and motor ability test.
1. No significant difference in morphological development was observed between students attending school on bicycle and those attending school on foot.
2. Regarding leg muscle strength, the bicycle students were superior to foot students. This is thought to be due to the development of the extensor muscles resulting from pedalling. No significant differences were found in the other functio-nal aspects.
3. Physical fitness tests revealed that the bicycle students were superior to the foot students regarding agility and flexibility, however, results of step test were not always in favor of the bicycle students. (Table 6.)
4. Motor ability test revealed no significant difference between the bicycle group and the foot group. Consequently, evaluation of results of physical fitness and motor ability tests was“low B”. (Table 6. 8.)
5. Results of physical fitness test and motor ability tests were superior in the long distance bicycle students than in the short distance group. This is thought to be due to the influence of more physical exertion on the former group than the latter group. (Fig. 2. 3.)
6. From the above results, it is assumed that bicycle riding only as a means of transit from house to school does not significantly influence physical fitness. In order to use bicycles as a means of improving physical fitness, it is necessary to go about it more scientifically.
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