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This study is aimed at evaluating 10-13-year-old girls' motor skills and anthropometric characteristics as well as their interrelationships during their growth. Three hundred seventy-eight girls from elementary schools underwent a standard anthropometry (body height, weight and body mass index) and motor fitness tests (sprint run for 20 meters, Bent knee push-up, sit-up test for 30 seconds, standing long jump and sit and reach). Data was stratified by age. Age-specific percentile values (i.e., P5 to P95) were generated. Significant age-related main effects for body height, body weight, and body mass indexes were observed, including running speed, abdominal strength, and muscle endurance, as well as the explosive leg power. Physical fitness was considerably affected by anthropometric parameters. Body height seemed to be positively correlated with the explosive leg power and abdominal strength and muscles endurance, and negatively with speed, strength and endurance of the upper body muscle groups. Test results for assessing strength were insufficient. Likewise, body weight appeared positively correlated with explosive leg power and negatively with speed, strength and endurance of the upper body muscle groups and flexibility. As for the body mass index, it was proven to be negatively correlated with strength and the endurance of the upper body muscle groups and flexibility.

The consequences of physical inactivity and insufficient education about its importance are affecting not only the length and the quality of life, but also the economic aspects, such as health care costs caused by the reduction in labour productivity of the Serbian population. Based on previous experiences of countries in transition and those that have well-arranged systems of education, in terms of teaching of physical education programmes, there are possibilities for the necessary reform of the curriculum, adapted to our abilities and needs. These are primarily related to the objectives of education - proper development and creation of positive habits regarding physical activity and health. So far, the reforms of physical education in Serbia have not produced results. The reform should be the transition from education focused on the program to education focused on the ultimate goals (knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards physical activity, i.e. the lifelong values). The objectives and outcomes of teaching physical education should be individualized according to the psychosomatic status and specific dimensions of that status. Therefore, the role and responsibility of teachers change and it is necessary to reform their education. Of course, government is very involved in all of this, at all levels - throughout strategies and campaigns to raise awareness of the nation and its knowledge about the importance of physical activity through all forms of education.

The bones play an important structural role in the organism. They provide mobility, support, and protect the body, and the place where the storage essential minerals. Healthy bones have a crucial impact on the overall health of a person, and activities that promote health and preventive influence on the formation of bone disease are crucial in maintaining a strong and healthy skeletal system. Physical inactivity affects the decrease in function of bone, and the most common disease of bone osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder that results in low bone density and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, that results in less bone density, and may lead to fracture. Physical activity is essential for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis. Based on available information, the best effect to maintain and stimulate the formation of bone mineral density is a combination of dynamic exercises with resistance training that engage multiple joints, large muscle groups, and have influence on the spine and hips. The results suggest that exercises with axial loading, such as running, jumping, and power exercise, promote the positive gains in bone mineral density. Therefore, training should focus on the adaptation of specific parts of the body that is most susceptible to injury, and should be sufficiently intense that exceeds the normal loads.

The purpose of this research is to assess physical activity among pupils in primary schools in Novi Sad, aged 11 years. The sample consisted of 185 participants (90 boys and 95 girls). Data were collected through a questionnaire, and modified Beacke Q questionnaire was used. Physical activity related to school - physical education, sports and leisure were assessed. Frequencies were calculated for all data, and significance of differences in inclusion and type of physical activity of pupils by sex was determined by Chi-square test. In all three dimensions of physical activity, the significant differences between boys and girls (p ≤ 0.05) were established. Boys have a higher level of physical activity compared to girls. Regular attendance of physical education is high, but the class intensity is low, while girls exercise with yet lower intensity compared to the boys. Boys are more active in sports and the most common sports for them are: football and basketball, while for girls those are volleyball and tennis. Pupils involved in sports generally carry out their activities more than 4 hours per week and 9 months per year. Most of their leisure time pupils spend with computers and TV, boys spend more time in sports, while girls spend more time walking.

On sample of 757 pupils, 379 boys and 378 girls, school age from 3rd to 6th class, nutrition status, according BMI, and motor status were analyzed by using 8 variables (3 for valuation of morphological and 5 for evaluation of motor abilities status). In the overall sample, 66.3% established a normal nutritional status 18.4% was overweight, 15.3% were obese. Obesity is the most vulnerable children in third grade (21.8%), and overweight in fourth (20.1%) and fifth (20.9%) grade. The results indicate a statistically significant difference between the third and sixth grades, and no statistically significant differences in the frequency of overweight and obesity in all grades, or in relation to sex. Overweight has a negative correlation with explosive leg strength and muscle strength of arms and shoulders, while obesity has a negative correlation with the strength of muscles of arms and shoulders, running speed, strength of trunk muscle and explosive leg strength. Significant statistical relation was lacking in fl exibility. The results show a statistically significant difference in the speed of running, muscle strength of arms and shoulders, trunk muscle strength and explosive leg strength between the overweight and obese pupils. A significant difference was not observed in the test to assess the value of flexibility. Generally, children who are overweight and obese have significantly reduced motor skills compared to normal children too soon, especially with regard to the manifestation of strength and speed.

Copyright of Facta Universitatis: Series Physical Education & Sport is the property of Facta Universitatis, Series Physical Education & Sport and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Facta Universitatis: Series Physical Education & Sport is the property of Facta Universitatis, Series Physical Education & Sport and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the study was to compare elite junior and senior women table tennis players, using three parameters of the table tennis: rally length, serve and receive analysis. Twenty-five junior and twenty-five elite senior matches were analysed (total: 263 sets and 4958 points) between players ranked in Top 25 in ETTU rankings in the last two years. All the athletes used an offensive style of play. The results of non-parametric Mann-Whitney U Test, showed a significantly higher rally length in senior compared to junior category (4.46 vs. 3.93). Moreover, the results of Pearson's Chi-square tests show an association between the age categories and selected parameters (laterality, technique and placement) for both serve and receive. Different behavior between the two categories was noted. The senior players used more the flip technique (22.2 % vs 14.7 %) and short push to return the services of the opponents (32.5 % vs 26.0 %). These results provide useful information to analyze junior players' behavior compared to the senior players in order to plan specific training sessions. It can be also useful to identify some parameters as predictors of the future success for junior players.