A Study of Health Related Physical Fitness Component Rural and Urban In School Children of Bihar

Physical fitness of school children is major factor to be considered. So, School physical education programmes should include multi furious activities appropriate to each age group. Schools have the potential to improve the health of young people by providing instruction in physical education that promotes enjoyable lifelong physical activity. Diseases and health problem resulting from an inactive life style have their origins early in life. This is when an active lifestyle should be established. Fitness begins at birth and should continue throughout a person`s life. Physical activity and fitness behaviours should be normal and necessary part of everyone`s life. In adults, relationship among physical activity, health related fitness, and health are fairly well established (Boucherd and Shepherd 1994).

Chaudhary (1998) studied the difference in physical fitness of urban and rural students studying in class IX and X and found that rural students were better in physical fitness than urban students. Uppal and Sareen (2000) conducted a study to find out the comparison on cardiovascular fitness between rural and urban students and revealed that students with rural background performed better than that of their counterparts in urban area. Charles (2006) conducted a study on the “Differences in health for rural and urban Canadians”. His report shows that Canadians living in rural areas generally have higher mortality rates than those living in urban areas.

Majority of the Indian population live in rural areas, mainly depending on agriculture for their livelihood, and carry out more physical activities when compared to the urban population who are accustomed to sedentary life style. Healthy body is necessary for increasing the working capacity and maintaining health related physical fitness of an individual to perform his daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with left over energy to enjoy leisure time activities. It also helps to withstand stress and carry on, in circumstances where a physically unfit person could not continue. Tsimeas and Tsigilis (2005) conducted a study on Greek rural students to find out “Does living in urban or rural settings effect aspects of physical fitness in children”. The Bihar School of Yoga is an universally acclaimed school of Yoga established by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 to satisfy the guideline given by his Guru, Sri Swami Sivananda of engendering the ancient astuteness of yoga from door to door and from shore to shore. Arranged on the banks of the Ganges, the grounds of Bihar School of Yoga is reputed to be Ganga Darshan, found at the highest point of hillock in the town Yoga gives traditional yoga teachings to householders and sannyasins apparently equivalent from over the globe. The yoga taught at Bihar School of Yoga is reputed to be Satyananda Yoga or Bihar Yoga and is a basic framework which addresses the characteristics of head, heart and hands – judgment, feeling and activity and endeavors to mix the physical, mental and otherworldly sizes of yoga into each one practice. Public health challenge that must be met in order to prevent obesity and thus enhance health and well-being (Bize et al, 2007). For substantial health benefits, current guidelines for adults recommend at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity or 1.25 hours of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week.

CONCLUSION:

Physical fitness is fundamental to public health. This has an influence on the risks of morbidity and mortality, and therefore can reduce these risks. Disease prevention and health promotion should be implemented as early as possible both in childhood and adolescence.

• Choudhary Anchal (1998) Physical Fitness of Female Students Studying in High Schools in Rural and Urban Areas. M.Phil Thesis, Unpublished. Kurukshetra: Kuruskhetra University.

• Uppal AK, Sareen Rajeev (2000) Cardiovascular endurance of rural and urban school students. Research Bulletin, Research Division, L.N.I.P.E Gwalior, 15: 11-13.

• Charles M 2006. Difference in Health for Rural and Urban Canadians. Public Health News, Article Data 21 Sep. 2006-0:00 PST.

 Tsimeas PD, Tsiokanos AL, Koutedakis Y. Does living in urban or rural settings affect aspects of physical fitness in children? an allometric approach. Br J Sports Med. 2005;39:671–674.