Motor fitness , particularly balance , was the most studied fitness component , while cardiorespiratory fitness was the least studied .
While we wait for more evidence to be accumulated in preschool children , the PREFIT battery hereby proposed is a useful tool for assessing physical fitness in children aged 3–5 years
Background Physical fitness is a powerful health marker in childhood and adolescence , and it is reasonable to think that it might be just as important in younger children , i.e. preschoolers .
At the moment , research ers , clinicians and sport practitioners do not have enough information about which fitness tests are more reliable , valid and informative from the health point of view to be implemented in preschool children .
Objective Our aim was to systematic ally review the studies conducted in preschool children using field-based fitness tests , and examine their ( 1 ) reliability , ( 2 ) validity , and ( 3 ) relationship with health outcomes .
Our ultimate goal was to propose a field-based physical fitness-test battery to be used in preschool children .
After analyzing the information retrieved in the current systematic review about fitness testing in preschool children , we propose the PREFIT battery , field-based FITness testing in PREschool children .
Reliability and validity of age band 1 of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children--second edition.
The purpose of this study was to examine specific aspects of the reliability and validity of age b and 1 of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children -- Second Edition ( MABC-2 ) ( Henderson , Sugden , & Barnett , 2007 ) in Greek preschool children . One hundred and eighty-three children participated in the study ; the children ranged in age from 36 to 64 months old ( M = 50 months , SD = 9 months ) .  Test-retest reliability of the MABC-2 was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient ( ICC ) . Cronbach 's alpha for the items of each motor domain was estimated to determine internal consistency . Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factorial validity of the MABC-2 test . Correlation coefficients among individual item scores and the total score were also calculated to further examine validity . The ICC for all test items was good , except for the drawing trail task , which was moderate . Cronbach 's alpha coefficient values were .51 , .70 and .66 for manual dexterity , aim ing and catching , and balance , respectively . In the confirmatory factor analysis , goodness-of-fit indices suggested a satisfactory fit of the data to the model . The correlation coefficients between each test item and the total score were moderate . The results suggest that the MABC-2 can be a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of movement difficulties among 3 - 5-year-old children
Motor fitness , particularly balance , was the most studied fitness component , while cardiorespiratory fitness was the least studied .
While we wait for more evidence to be accumulated in preschool children , the PREFIT battery hereby proposed is a useful tool for assessing physical fitness in children aged 3–5 years
Background Physical fitness is a powerful health marker in childhood and adolescence , and it is reasonable to think that it might be just as important in younger children , i.e. preschoolers .
At the moment , research ers , clinicians and sport practitioners do not have enough information about which fitness tests are more reliable , valid and informative from the health point of view to be implemented in preschool children .
Objective Our aim was to systematic ally review the studies conducted in preschool children using field-based fitness tests , and examine their ( 1 ) reliability , ( 2 ) validity , and ( 3 ) relationship with health outcomes .
Our ultimate goal was to propose a field-based physical fitness-test battery to be used in preschool children .
After analyzing the information retrieved in the current systematic review about fitness testing in preschool children , we propose the PREFIT battery , field-based FITness testing in PREschool children .