Feature recess-time sports activities as a school-based intervention to improve fitness in rural Chinese youth.

ABSTRACT:

Background

China's national school health policies face persistent implementation gaps, particularly in rural high schools prioritizing Gaokao. National surveys (2010-2019) documented alarming fitness declines: 50-m sprint speeds decreased (+0.3s boys; + 0.4s girls), pull-ups/sit-ups fell 29%/20%, and standing jumps shortened 6-7 cm.

Methods

A 16-week cluster quasi-experiment assigned intact rural high school classes (N = 98; age = 16.35 ± 0.48years) to: • Experimental (n = 50): Feature Recess-Time Sports Activities (FRTSA; 5x30-min/week). • Control (n = 48): Standard supervised running. Blinded assessors conducted the National Student Physical Health Standard tests.

Results

FRTSA elicited significant improvements versus control: • Speed: 50-m sprint (p < 0.001, η2 = 

SUBMITTER: Huang XH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12826519 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature