Schools
Fitness Fail
Nearly 40 percent of San Lorenzo Unified School District fifth and ninth graders are out of shape, according to the 2009-10 California Physical Fitness Report.
Nearly 40 percent of fifth and ninth graders in the San Lorenzo Unified School District fall below state standards for aerobic fitness—the area experts call most important—and fewer than 20 percent of the younger students made the grade against the state's six fitness benchmarks, data released today shows.
Seventh graders fared better: nearly 41 percent scored well on all six measures, and more than 75 percent ranked as aerobically fit, according to the California State Physical Fitness results released Wednesday. Those scores make San Lorenzo's seventhth graders the only subset to fare better than the state average on the test.
Statewide, 28.7 percent of the students in grade five, 34.6 percent in grade seven, and 38.5 percent in grade nine scored well on all six measures. For the fifth graders, fitness levels actually dropped for the first time since 2006.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Nothing is more important than the health of our children, and today’s results show that many of them need a helping hand to get fit and stay in shape,” said State School Chief Tom Torlakson in a statement. “The Team California for Healthy Kids campaign will help students adopt the healthy habits that will help them succeed in the classroom today—and help them stay healthy over a lifetime.”
Students across the county scored similarly to San Lorenzo in aerobic fitness, but failed to get as many students through all six fitness benchmarks.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
San Lorenzo
Grade 5Grade 7Grade 9 Physical Fitness AreaTotal1Tested% In HFZ% Not in HFZTotal1
Tested% In HFZ% Not in HFZTotal1
Tested% In HFZ% Not in HFZ Aerobic Capacity 322 60.9 39.1 411 79.1 20.9 335 57.0 43.0 Body Composition 322 62.4 37.6 411 62.3 37.7 335 66.9 33.1 Abdominal Strength 322 59.6 40.4 411 92.5 7.5 335 91.9 8.1 Trunk Extensor Strength 322 73.0 27.0 411 85.2 14.8 335 90.7 9.3 Upper Body Strength 322 63.7 36.3 411 85.4 14.6 335 87.8 12.2 Flexibility 322 66.1 33.9 411 81.0 19.0 335 64.8 35.2 Grade 5Grade 7Grade 9 Number of Physical Fitness Areas
Meeting the Healthy Fitness ZoneNumberPercentCum. PercentNumberPercentCum. PercentNumberPercentCum. Percent 6 of 6 fitness criteria 52 16.1 16.1 167 40.6 40.6 109 32.5 32.5 5 of 6 fitness criteria 78 24.2 40.3 115 28.0 68.6 89 26.6 59.1 4 of 6 fitness criteria 80 24.8 65.1 77 18.7 87.3 78 23.3 82.4 3 of 6 fitness criteria 45 14.0 79.1 26 6.3 93.6 32 9.6 92.0 2 of 6 fitness criteria 35 10.9 90.0 14 3.4 97.0 13 3.9 95.9 1 of 6 fitness criteria 15 4.7 94.7 4 1.0 98.0 5 1.5 97.4 0 of 6 fitness criteria 17 5.3 100.0 8 1.9 99.9 9 2.7 100.0 Total tested 322 100.0 411 100.0 335 100.0
Alameda County:
Total1
Tested
% In HFZ
% Not in HFZ
Aerobic Capacity
14,962
68.9
31.1
14,717
69.8
30.2
13,725
64.6
35.4
Body Composition
14,962
71.1
28.9
14,717
70.7
29.3
13,725
73.9
26.1
Abdominal Strength
14,962
78.8
21.2
14,717
85.0
15.0
13,725
85.8
14.2
Trunk Extensor Strength
14,962
86.6
13.4
14,717
87.0
13.0
13,725
90.0
10.0
Upper Body Strength
14,962
71.8
28.2
14,717
74.1
25.9
13,725
78.2
21.8
Flexibility
14,962
73.9
26.1
14,717
78.7
21.3
13,725
81.7
18.3
State:
Total1
Tested
% In HFZ
% Not in HFZ
Aerobic Capacity
442,845
65.3
34.7
436,923
67.0
33.0
439,251
64.1
35.9
Body Composition
442,845
68.5
31.5
436,923
68.9
31.1
439,251
71.3
28.7
Abdominal Strength
442,845
79.4
20.6
436,923
85.3
14.7
439,251
87.0
13.0
Trunk Extensor Strength
442,845
88.2
11.8
436,923
90.3
9.7
439,251
91.7
8.3
Upper Body Strength
442,845
69.4
30.6
436,923
72.7
27.3
439,251
77.3
22.7
Flexibility
442,845
70.4
29.6
436,923
77.7
22.3
439,251
82.0
18.0
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
