Objective: To test the impact of an enhanced physical education programme upon the growth and development of static and dynamic lung volumes of primary schoolchildren.
Experimental design: Quasi-experimental three factor design (treatment x gender x urban vs rural environment) with students evaluated over each of 6 years of primary school.
Setting: Entire classes from State schools in urban and rural environment.
Participants: All willing students aged 7-12 years in selected classes; initially 546 students, with 4% drop-out rate per year.
Intervention: Five hours of additional physical education per week, taught by specialist.
Measures: Body dimension (height, body mass), aerobic power (treadmill to exhaustion), forced vital capacity (FVC), one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0).
Results: Small but statistically significant influences of treatment, gender (M > F) and environment (rural > urban) which could not be explained by body size. Both FVC and FEV1.0 conform closely to cubic functions of height in metres: Boys FVC = 0.93 (H)3, FEV1.0 = 0.79 (H)3. Girls FVC +/- 0.85 (H)3, FEV1.0 = 0.76 (H)3.
Conclusions: A regular physical education programme can enhance lung volumes in primary school students. Norms should allow for gender differences, and reflect the potential attainment of students receiving adequate physical training and living in an area of low air pollution.