Fitter Students or Flabbier Standards? Thoughts and Reflection on the Findings of a Recent Chinese Fitness Study

摘要

It was widely reported in China that female college students were fitter than male college students in a recent fitness study in Jiangsu Province, China. After carefully examining the finding and its related context, I believe that this specific finding was a "side effect" of the changes made in the 2014 Chinese Students Fitness and Health Standards rather than true improvements in female students' fitness. I further verified my observation using data from the 2010 and 2014 fitness studies from another province in China. After describing the lessons learned, I call for more studies to examine the validity and credibility of the 2014 standards and suggest using caution when releasing any new standards in the future before they are carefully studied and evaluated.