American Journal of Epidemiology · 6 authors
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The paper describes the design, implementation, and utility of the NYC FITNESSGRAM (NYCFG), a school-based, population-level physical fitness surveillance program for New York City public school youth. It demonstrates the program's value in monitoring fitness as a health proxy, identifying disparities (e.g., by neighborhood poverty), and informing public health and educational interventions.
This paper presents the NYC FITNESSGRAM (NYCFG) as a population-level surveillance tool for monitoring physical fitness among New York City public school youth. The authors detail the program's design, data collection methods, and its utility in examining fitness prevalence, trends, and disparities, particularly noting an association between higher area poverty and lower healthy fitness attainment. The surveillance data have been used to document associations between fitness changes and outcomes like academic performance and absenteeism, especially among high-poverty youth. The authors position NYCFG as a public health tool aligned with national recommendations, capable of informing interventions and health promotion. Limitations include exclusion of certain school types and grades, missing data for about 23% of eligible students, and potential measurement error.
