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Differences Between Health- and Skill-Related Physical Fitness Profiles of Kenyan Children from Urban and Rural Areas: The Kenya-LINX Project
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Gareth Stratton ,
Lucy Joy Wachira ,
Victor Okoth ,
George Evans Owino ,
Sophie Ochola,
Amie Richards ,
Festus Kiplamai,
Vincent Onywera,
Nils Swindell
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume: 22, Issue: 4, Start page: 542
Swansea University Authors:
Gareth Stratton , Amie Richards , Nils Swindell
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© 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/ijerph22040542
Abstract
Physical fitness is a key indicator of children’s health, yet amidst rising inactivity and obesity, data on Kenyan children is scarce. This study assessed health- and skill-related fitness differences between rural and urban Kenyan children while examining demo-graphic influences. Cardiorespiratory...
| Published in: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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| ISSN: | 1660-4601 |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69162 |
| Abstract: |
Physical fitness is a key indicator of children’s health, yet amidst rising inactivity and obesity, data on Kenyan children is scarce. This study assessed health- and skill-related fitness differences between rural and urban Kenyan children while examining demo-graphic influences. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), BMI, strength, flexibility, speed, agility, and coordination were assessed in 1131 children aged 11.07 0.9 years (52.7% girls) recruited using stratified cluster random sampling. Significant rural-urban dispar-ities were observed. In urban areas, 16.6% were overweight and 2.8% obese, compared to 4% and 0.6% in rural areas (p < 0.001). Conversely, 44.5% of the rural cohort were un-derweight versus 13.7% urban cohort (p < 0.001). Multivariable regression revealed that rural children demonstrated superior CRF (β = −4.68 laps, p < 0.001) and lower back flexibility (β = −2.77 cm, p < 0.001), while urban children excelled in speed and coordi-nation (β = 3.68 bounces, p < 0.001) and grip strength (β = 2.16 kg, p < 0.001). Boys out-performed girls in explosive leg power (β = −6.75 cm, p < 0.001) and CRF (β = −6.92 laps, p < 0.001). These findings highlight fitness inequities among Kenyan children, emphasising the need for equitable, targeted, and inclusive physical activity opportunities. |
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| Keywords: |
body mass index; cardiorespiratory fitness; health disparities; physical fitness |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The Global Challenge Research Fund supported pump priming research that led to this project. The Kenya-Linx project was funded by the British Academy under the Urban Infrastructure for Wellbeing scheme (grant number UWB190069). The funders had no role in the study’s design, data collection and analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to publish. |
| Issue: |
4 |
| Start Page: |
542 |