Variations of functionality, cardiorespiratory system and physical work capacity rates depending on physical education process design for 1-11-graders

Фотографии: 

ˑ: 

Postgraduate N.V. Yachmenev
Professor, Dr.Med. V.B. Rubanovich
Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk

 

Keywords: schoolchildren, physical education, physical education (PE) process design formats.

Introduction. The main objective of physical education in secondary schools is promotion of health of the younger generation. However, results of research conducted by numerous scientists show deterioration in physical health of schoolchildren [2, 3, 5, 6, 11]. Experts believe insufficient efficiency of physical education in secondary school to be one of the reasons of this situation [1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Hence, it is necessary to find ways to improve the system of physical education of schoolchildren including PE lessons design.

Objective of the study was to explore the functionality variations in the 1-11-year schoolchildren depending on the physical education (PE) process designs including cycled and traditional ones.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the study were the 1-2, 6-7 and 10-11-year schoolchildren of the “Our School” Education Establishment (Novosibirsk) forming a Study Group of 48 boys and Secondary School #169 (Novosibirsk) pupils forming a Reference Group of 75 boys. The examined groups consisted of healthy male schoolchildren. The study was conducted in the beginning and at the end of the school year, in the first half of the day. PE lessons in the Study Group were allocated in 4 cycles throughout the school year according to the academic terms. Each cycle was divided into a period of “immersion” and an inter-cycle period. During the “immersion” SG pupils dedicated five hours per week to physical education – three times for 1 hour, and the fourth class was 2 hours long. The “immersion” periods were a month long during the 1st, 2nd and 4th terms, and one and a half months long in the 3rd term. During the inter-cycle period PE lessons were conducted once a week and were 2 hours long. PE classes for RG pupils had a traditional format, were 1 hour long and took place 3 times a week. The number of hours in the academic year in both groups corresponded to the PE curriculum for education establishments.    

The study of external breathing included assessment of the vital capacity (VC), maximum inspiratory and expiratory flow rates, breath-holding tests (Stange-Genchi Samples) as well as calculation of the birth-death ratio. The cardiovascular system (CVS) performance was assessed by heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) at relative rest and under a standard step-ergometric load of the capacity of 12 kgm/min·kg. Double product (DP) and functional changes index (FCI) were calculated. Physical work capacity was assessed using the PWC170 test [12].

Mathematical data processing was performed using mathematical methods of statistics. Group differences were assessed by means of the Student’s t-test (for dynamic observations within the same group) and the Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney test for independent samples; The criterion for significance was set at

р≤0.05.

Results and discussion. No significant differences in terms of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and physical work capacity were detected in 1-2-graders from SG and RG (Table 1). However, the external breathing dynamics in 1-2-graders from SG and RG differed significantly during the school year. 

Table 1. External breathing indicators of 1-11-graders, М±m

 

Indicators

 

Grade

Study Group

Reference Group

autumn

spring

autumn

spring

Vital capacity, ml

1-2

1581±62

1797±65

1631±39

1747±33

6-7

3115±130

3441±147

2904±99

3132±99

10-11

4642±108

4915±108*

4347±131

4490±123

Birth-death ratio, ml/kg

1-2

61.6±1.3

65.0±1.3*^

60.8±1.3

61.3±1.2

6-7

62.4±1.5

65.4±1.3*

57.6±1.7

58.5±1.6

10-11

68.6±1.3

70.7±1.1*

64.7±1.7

66.6±1.7

Maximum inspiratory flow rate, ml/second

1-2

1778±58

2111±78^

1843±52

1957±45

6-7

3941±184*

4335±192*

3452±158

3800±143

10-11

5915±183*

6177±192*

5433±157

5510±164

Maximum expiratory flow rate, ml/second

1-2

1850±52

2183±45^

1906±48

2031±41

6-7

3671±178

3976±178

3392±112

3624±97

10-11

5692±183*

5869±175*

5127±127

5227±142

Note. In Tables 1, 2 and in Figure 1: significant differences in average values: ^ – between the start and the end of the school year; * – between peers from SG and RG during the same period of the school year, p<0.05.

Birth-death ratio, maximum inspiratory flow rate and maximum expiratory flow rate values significantly increased in the schoolchildren from the Study Group (р<0.05), while they just tended to increase in the Reference Group, and in terms of birth-death ratio SG pupils significantly outperformed their RG peers by the end of the school year (р<0.05).

SG 6th and 7th graders left their peers from the Reference Group behind in terms of VC, birth-death ratio and maximum inspiratory and expiratory flow rates by 6.8%, 7.7%, 12.4% and 7.6% respectively at the start of the school year already. During the school year the studied indicators increased by 9.5%, 4.6%, 9.4% and 7.7% in the Study Group and by 7.3%, 1.5%, 9.1% and 6.4% in the Reference Group, respectively. At the same time the differences in the birth-death ratio and maximum inspiratory flow rate rates of the boys from the Study Group and the Reference Group became significant by the end of the school year (р<0.05).

In terms of external breathing indicators the SG pupils of the older age group also proved to be ahead at the start of the school year, and the differences in the maximum inspiratory and expiratory flow rates were significant (р<0.05). By the end of the school year the values of all the studied external breathing indicators were significantly higher in senior SG pupils (р<0.05).

SG pupils of all ages significantly outperformed their RG peers in terms of the Stange’s test values at the start and end of the school year, with the exception of the original data at a younger age (р<0.05) (Figure 1). A similar situation was observed when assessing the Genchi’s sample values, indicating a more significant increase in resistance to hypoxemia in SG pupils compared to RG ones from primary school age to senior. 

Figure 1. Timed inspiratory capacity indicators of 1-11-graders.

Study of the chronotropic cardiac function at relative rest did not reveal significant differences between peers of the examined grades from Study and Reference Groups (Table 2). Functional changes index values of primary school children from the compared groups in the beginning and at the end of the school year did not differ significantly either. However, SG pupils of the secondary school age demonstrated lower functional changes index values in the beginning and at the end of the school year than those of RG, indicating a higher adaptive capability of the body compared to that of RG pupils (р<0.05).     

Table 2. Indicators of the cardiovascular system performance and physical work capacity of 1-11-graders, М±m

 

Indicators

 

Grade

Study Group

Reference Group

autumn

spring

autumn

spring

Heart rate (at rest), beats/min 

 

1-2

88.7±1.5

88.3±1.5

88.6±0.9

89.1±0.9

6-7

86.8±2.0

83.0±2.1

88.1±0.9

87.8±1.0

10-11

82.3±2.3

82.5±2.1

84.4±2.8

84.5±2.5

Functional changes index, c.u.

1-2

1.82±0.04

1.82±0.04

1.83±0.03

1.86±0.02

6-7

1.93±0.05*

1.95±0.05*

2.12±0.05

2.14±0.05

10-11

2.10±0.06*

2.09±0.04*

2.26±0.04

2.25±0.03

Heart rate (load), beats/min

1-2

163.1±1.9

154.6±2.2*^

165.5±1.7

165.3±1.4

6-7

162.4±2.1*

153.6±2.5*^

177.4±2.6

173.8±2.7

10-11

158.9±2.3*

151.6±2.4*^

171.1±3.0

168.9±2.8

Double product (load), c.u.

1-2

212±4

201±4*

212±3

218±3

6-7

235±6*

228±6*

273±7

285±7

10-11

244±6*

233±5*

290±8

297±7

PWC170/kg, kgm/min·kg

 

1-2

13.1±0.4

14.7±0.5*^

12.9±0.5

13.0±0.3

6-7

13.5±0.4*

15.0±0.4*^

11.2±0.4

11.7±0.5

10-11

13.7±0.3*

15.3±0.4*^

11.6±0.5

12.5±0.5

Cardiovascular system indicators under standard physical load differed considerably in SG and RG peers in all cases with the exception of the initial data of the 1-2-graders (see Table 2). By the end of the school year a considerable decrease in the chronotopic response and double product was observed in younger SG pupils during standard physical load, indicating economization of the cardiovascular system performance (р<0.05). At the same time these indicators of their RG peers remained virtually unchanged, due to which they became significantly inferior in terms of the CVS efficiency during standard exercise  (р<0.05). SG boys’ dominance in terms of the CVS efficiency under standard load in the beginning and especially at the end of the school year increased even more in senior school. 

SG pupils were characterized by significantly higher physical work capacity rates than their RG peers in all age periods except the initial data of the 1-2-graders. A significant increase of PWC170/kg (р<0.05) rates was detected in primary and senior pupils from the Study Group as a result of monitoring, while the PWC170/kg level in boys from the Reference Group remained virtually unchanged by the end of the school year.  

Conclusions

  • A more considerable improvement of physiological parameters of the cardiorespiratory system and physical work capacity during a school year was observed in 1-11-graders engaged in the cycled PE process as compared to the traditional one.  
  • Study Group pupils considerably outperformed their peers in terms of the majority of studied indicators of the external breathing function and the cardiovascular system with the exception of the background survey in the primary school; the differences increase with age.
  • The fact that 6-7 and 10-11-graders from the Study Group significantly exceeded their Reference Group peers in terms of the majority of the studied indicators at the start of the school year already, while there were no differences in initial data at a younger age, may indicate the “accumulating” positive impact of PE classes of the cycled process design on the functional state of schoolchildren during their studies from the 1st to the 11th grade.

References

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Corresponding author: Yachmenev1988@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to explore the functionality variations in the 1-11-graders depending on the physical education (PE) process designs including the cycled and traditional ones. Subject to the study were the 1-2, 6-7 and 10-11-grade pupils of the “Our School” Education Establishment (Novosibirsk) forming a Study Group of 48 boys and Secondary School #169 (Novosibirsk) pupils forming a Reference Group of 75 boys.

Subject to tests and analyses under the study were the physiological external breathing, cardiovascular system performance and physical work capacity rates of the 1-11-graders under different PE process designs. The study data showed the variation trends of the test rates being more favourable in the cycled PE process design as compared to the traditional one, with the tested differences of the both groups found to increase over the period under study.