Temporal trends in the standing broad jump performance of United States children and adolescents

Authors: PINONIEMI, BRIDGET - University Of North Dakota; TOMKINSON, GRANT - University Of North Dakota; WALCH, TANIS - University Of North Dakota; Roemmich, James; FITZGERALD, JOHN - University Of North Dakota

Submitted to: Research Quarterly for Exercise And Sport
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/22/2019
Publication Date: 2/13/2020
Citation: Pinoniemi, B., Tomkinson, G., Walch, T., Roemmich, J.N., Fitzgerald, J. 2020. Temporal trends in the standing broad jump performance of United States children and adolescents. Research Quarterly for Exercise And Sport. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2019.1710446.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2019.1710446

Interpretive Summary: The broad jump is a measure of youth muscular fitness and health and was collected for decades. As such analysis of youth broad jump performance could be an ideal way to measure changes in youth health. Scientists at the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in collaboration with scientists from the University of North Dakota searched databases, review papers, and personal libraries for studies reporting standing broad jump data for healthy United States youth (age 10–17 years). They found that there was a small increase of 12.6 cm or 7.9% in United States youth broad jump distance between 1911 and 1990. Increases were greater for girls than boys. Children (10–12 years) and adolescents (13–17 years) had similar increases in broad jumpt performance over the 8 decades of data collection. Muscular fitness is a good marker of health, so greater broad jump performance from 1911 to 1990 suggests improved health. Broad jump performance is no longer routinely assessed to screen and monitor the health and muscular fitness of United States youth, but the idea could be revisted due to its practicality, scalability, and predictive utility.

Technical Abstract: Purpose: To estimate temporal trends in broad jump performance for United States youth, a marker of muscular fitness and health. Method: Electronic databases, topical systematic reviews, and personal libraries were systematically searched for studies reporting descriptive standing broad jump data for apparently healthy United States youth (age 10–17 years). Temporal trends at the sex-age level were estimated using sample-weighted regression models associating the year of testing to mean jump performance, with national trends standardized to the year 1985 using a post-stratified population-weighting procedure. Results: Collectively, there was a small increase of 12.6 cm (95%CI: 12.5 to 12.7) or 7.9% (95%CI: 7.1 to 8.6) in 65,527 United States youth between 1911 and 1990. Increases were greater for girls (change in means [95% CI]: 17.1 cm [16.9 to 17.3]; 11.4% [10.7 to 12.2]) compared to boys (change in means [95% CI]: 8.5 cm [8.3 to 8.7]; 4.6% [3.8 to 5.4]), but did not differ between children (10–12 years) and adolescents (13–17 years). Increases in broad jump performance were not always uniform across time, with steady and progressive increases observed for boys and children, respectively, and a diminishing rate of increase observed for girls and adolescents. Conclusions: Muscular fitness is a good marker of health, so greater broad jump performance from 1911 to 1990 suggests improved health. Broad jump performance should be routinely assessed to screen and monitor the health and muscular fitness of United States youth due to its practicality, scalability, and predictive utility.