Background
HOLIDAYS, SECONDARY, HOLIDAY
Physical fitness and body composition play a crucial role in the overall health and wellbeing of children [Recent research suggests that increases in fatness and declines in aerobic fitness in children occur at a greater rate during the school summer holiday period compared to the school year [The “Structured Days Hypothesis” [The aim of this study was to describe and compare rates of change in children’s fitness and fatness over the in-school and summer holiday periods in Australia, a southern hemisphere country with relatively short summer holidays (6 weeks) and relatively few summer camp offerings. A secondary aim was to explore whether rates of change differed according to the child’s sex, socio-economic status (SES), pubertal status and weight status.