Schools

Albany Students Generally More Fit than State Average

The chart shows the percentage of fifth grade students with a body composition score (body fat percentage) classified in the "needs improvement – high risk" category in the 2012-13 school year.

Slightly more than a fifth (21 percent) of Albany fifth graders were overweight in the last school year, compared to more than a third statewide, according to test results released today, Wednesday, by the state Department of Education

The state's annual "Fitnessgram" physical fitness tests for fifth, seventh and ninth graders also found Albany students generally scoring higher in all six categories measured: aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength, and flexibility.

In aerobic capacity, 79.8 percent of seventh graders were in the "Healthy Fitness Zone," compared to 64.4 percent statewide. Among ninth graders, 76.1 percent were in the Healthy Fitness Zone for body composition (body fat percentage), compared to the state average of 58.9 percent.

The results also included what percent of each grade were in the Healthy Fitness Zone for all six categories. Statewide, it was 25.5 percent of fifth graders, 32.4 percent of seventh graders and 36.6 percent of ninth graders. In Albany, it was 42.6 percent for fifth graders, 33.6 percent for seventh graders and 40.8 percent for 9th graders.
 
Carrie Strong-Thompson, a state Department of Education specialist in the tests, cautioned that the body composition category is a rough estimate since most schools measure it using height and weight charts, which can put a fit football player, for example, outside the Healthy Fitness Zone boundaries.


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