Health-Related Fitness of Deaf Children--How Do They Measure Up?

This article discusses a study on health-related fitness of deaf children. Participants in this study were deaf children in the first through fourth grades at either regular or special schools. Physical fitness was evaluated using the cardiorespiratory endurance Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER), percent body fat, flexibility, abdominal and upper body strength and endurance. The results of this study indicated deaf children have at least minimally acceptable levels of physical fitness. This study also revealed the significant differences for age, with decreasing fitness associated with increasing age. Moreover, the outcome of this study emphasizes the importance of having performance levels for comparison and evaluation of fitness performances, rather than comparing the performance of one group of individuals to another different group of individuals as was completed with deaf children in earlier studies.