Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 15 (2012) 129–135 Original research Secular trends in ﬁtness, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and TV-viewing among ﬁrst grade school children of Crete, Greece between 1992/93 and 2006/07 Emmanouil A. Smpokos a,∗ , Manolis Linardakis a , Angeliki Papadaki a , Christos Lionis b , Anthony Kafatos a a Department of Social Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Nutrition Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece b Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Crete, Greece Received 18 July 2010; received in revised form 11 June 2011; accepted 7 August 2011 Abstract Objectives: To assess secular changes in physical ﬁtness (PF), moderate-to-vigorous-physical activity (MVPA) and TV-viewing in 1st-grade children from Crete, Greece. Design: Cross-sectional cohorts examined in academic years 1992/93 and 2006/07. Methods: Two representative samples of children, aged 5.9–7.8 years, were studied during 1992/93 (N = 606) and 2006/07 (N = 361). PF (sit-and-reach, standing-broad-jump, sit-ups and 20 m-shuttle-run-test) was assessed by the European-PF test battery and MVPA by a physical activity (PA) questionnaire. Data on the frequency of TV-viewing was also collected. Results: Between 1992/93 and 2006/07, there was a signiﬁcant increase in all ﬁtness tests in both genders (P < 0.001) and in MVPA in boys (76.5 min/week vs. 38.7 min/week, P < 0.001). Time spent watching TV on weekdays was signiﬁcantly more in both genders in 2006/07, compared to 1992/93 (P<0.001). In 2006/07, active boys and active girls spent more time in MVPA than active boys and girls in 1992/93 (P < 0.001). Signiﬁcantly higher proportions of boys and girls engaged in vigorous activities in 2006/07, than 1992/93 (P < 0.001 and P = 0.027, respectively). Conclusions: A signiﬁcant increase in physical and cardiorespiratory ﬁtness in both genders and MVPA in boys was observed in children from Crete between 1992/93 and 2006/07. The increase in weekday TV-viewing, despite being parallel to an increase in leisure-time MVPA, could have an unfavorable effect on health and should be tackled in future interventions in this population. Dietary, anthropometric and biochemical indices should also be investigated to assess their impact on the secular changes in physical ﬁtness and activity observed in this sample of children. © 2011 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Secular trends; Children; Physical ﬁtness; Physical activity; TV-viewing 1. Introduction Rising youth obesity levels in youth constitute a serious global public health concern not only because of the health consequences in children and adolescence, but also because childhood obesity increases the risk of obesity in adulthood. 1 Obesity is a major risk factor for many metabolic disor- ders, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, some forms ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: msbokos@edu.med.uoc.gr, manosmpok@yahoo.gr (E.A. Smpokos). of cancer and speciﬁcally in children, may cause distorted self-image and aberrant cardiovascular risk factors proﬁles. 2 In recent years moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and high levels of sedentary behavior (SB), such as TV-viewing and video-gaming, have been shown to affect the lifestyle of children in many levels and contribute to the increase in the prevalence of obesity. 3 Earlier longitudinal studies have indicated a between SB and reduced levels of physical activity (PA) and physical ﬁtness (PF), as well as increased levels of obesity in childhood and adolescence. 4–6 In addition, decreased levels of PF in children have been associated with increased body fatness, impairment of 1440-2440/$ – see front matter © 2011 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2011.08.006