The Effect of Waist Circumference on FITNESSGRAM(R) BMI and Aerobic Capacity Criterion Standards in Sixth-Grade Children

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of waist circumference (WC) on the new FITNESSGRAM(R) BMI and AC HFZ standards in sixth-grade children. Subjects were 528 sixth-grade boys and girls who completed each of the FITNESSGRAM(R) test components as a part of their yearly physical education assessment. AC was determined from one-mile run times. The correlation between BMI and AC was .74. The correlation between WC and AC was .71. The correlation between BMI and WC was .94. Multiple regression indicated that BMI and gender accounted for 62% of the variation in AC. WC and gender accounted for 61% of the variation in AC. Logistic regression revealed that students who met the HFZ standards for BMI were 76.7 times more likely to meet the HFZ standards for AC than students who failed to meet the HFZ standards for BMI.