As adolescents spend the majority of their time focused on exams and assignments, they do not have sufficient time to engage in physical activity; this lack of physical activity is an important public health concern. This study aimed to investigate how school-based physical activity programs affect the health-related physical fitness of adolescents in the Republic of Korea. For this study, a total of 120 high school students participated in a school-based physical activity program that included badminton and table tennis for 15 weeks each (35 min/day, three times a week), with a total of 30 weeks for one academic year. The parameters for health-related physical fitness measured muscle strength (handgrip strength), power (standing long jump), cardiorespiratory fitness (shuttle run test), flexibility (sit and reach), body mass index (BMI), and the total score. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in muscle strength (p < 0.001), power (p < 0.001), cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.001), flexibility (p = 0.005), and the overall health-related physical fitness score (p = 0.001). However, students’ BMI showed no significant difference before and after participation (p = 0.825). The results of this study indicated that school-based physical activity programs can have a positive effect on the health-related physical fitness of adolescents.

The present study aimed to analyze changes in health-related physical fitness among Korean elementary and middle school students before (2019) and after (2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was completed by requesting the physical activity promotion system (PAPS) data from elementary and middle school students. This information is obtained annually by the Goyang Office of Education in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. The collected data were measured in 2019 and 2021. Data were collected from 17,000 children in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school and about 24,000 boys and girls in the first, second, and third grades of middle school. Chi-square analyses were used to examine data from each school’s health-related physical fitness examinations. Our results indicated that physical fitness levels were significantly lower in 2021 than in 2019 across the following six areas: cardiorespiratory endurance, power, muscular strength, flexibility, obesity, and overall health-related physical fitness (p < 0.05). In addition, the ratio of students with excellent physical fitness (PAPS Grades 1 and 2) significantly decreased from 2019 to 2021, while the ratio of students with poor physical fitness (PAPS Grades 3, 4, and 5) increased (p < 0.05). In addition, there were some differences according to grade and gender. Discussions regarding the impact of decreases in physical activity on physical fitness, interpretations of physical fitness in the context of a pandemic, and practical measures that can be implemented to improve health and fitness among children and adolescents in such situations remain essential.

This study aimed to develop a physical education fitness program for adolescents to counteract the declining physical activity levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to investigate the program’s effect. This mixed-methods study developed and implemented a five-component “Music Beeps” (MB) program to promote adolescents’ physical fitness. A total of 240 students from two high schools in South Korea—divided into experimental and control groups—participated in 32 sessions over 16 weeks. The changes in students’ fitness were analyzed, and the educational effects were examined via inductive analysis of the observation logs and group and in-depth interviews. The results demonstrated that, whereas the comparison group demonstrated no statistically significant changes in power, muscular strength and endurance, or cardiopulmonary endurance, the experimental group showed changes in all these variables, along with changes in flexibility. Further, the MB program had significant educational effects. First, students reported that musical cues enhanced their fitness motivation and sense of responsibility. Second, record-keeping and active participation contributed to self-led fitness management. Third, activity in a small space with few pieces of equipment led to the positive perception that the program was efficient and enabled regular exercise regardless of climate conditions.

Background: As the importance of safety during sports activities continues to gain emphasis socially, the interest in creating a culture of safety and safety education to support this is also increasing. However, no study has examined the willingness of adolescents to complete safety education voluntarily. To identify methods of building a culture of sports safety among adolescents, this study investigated the structural relationship among three related variables: sports activity habits, intention to complete safety education, and sports safety awareness of Korean adolescents. Methods: Data on 3928 adolescents aged 13–18 years old from the 2019 Sports Safety Accident Survey conducted by the Korea Sports Safety Foundation were analyzed. This encompassed frequency analysis, scale reliability, validity verification, descriptive statistics analysis, path analysis, and mediating effect verification. Results: The results indicated that sports activity habits among these adolescents had a positive effect on their sports safety awareness and on their intention to complete safety education; further, their sports safety awareness had a positive effect on their intention to complete safety education. The results also showed that sports safety awareness had a partial mediating effect between sports activity habits and intention to complete safety education. The willingness of adolescents to voluntarily complete safety education is particularly important, as adolescence is a critical period when lifelong safety habits can be formed. Conclusions: Based on the results, discussions on creating safe sports activity habits for adolescents and continuous education on sports safety awareness are needed. Ultimately, we need to improve sports safety awareness by paying attention to the development and implementation of sports safety education programs for adolescents as a national policy and, through this, increase their willingness to complete safety education.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing guidelines changed lifestyles, including increased sedentary time, physical inactivity, and disrupted sleep patterns among children. The purpose of the present study is to analyze the health awareness (mental health, disease, physical activity, sleep, eating habit, and hygiene health management) of elementary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and use the importance-performance analysis (IPA) technique to identify gender differences in health perceptions. We collected data on 1006 students, which was analyzed using frequency analysis, reliability testing, independent sample t-tests, and importance-performance analysis (IPA). A median importance value of 0.163 and a median performance value of 4.048 were selected as cross points to distribute the IPA matrix into four quadrants. The highest performance was given for wearing a mask and sanitary practice; the IPA matrix indicated that the sense of belonging, happiness, trust, and movement activity were located in quadrant I. Children’s regular physical activity and level of physical activity were low, especially that of girls. Children’s sleep management was poor. Their physical activity and sleep-related factors must be improved under the facilitation of the national government, public education institutions, and families.