Trends in resting pulse rates in 9-11-year-old children in the UK 1980-2008

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about whether levels of physical fitness, which is related to adiposity and physical activity (PA), have changed in children, particularly the progressive increase in childhood obesity levels. We aimed to examine the time trends in resting pulse rate (a marker of physical fitness) among UK children, in order to better understand the trends in levels of physical fitness in recent decades. DESIGN AND SETTING: We used a cross-sectional study design and included data on over 22 000 children aged 9-11 years (mean 10.3 years) from five population-based studies conducted in the UK between 1980 and 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Resting pulse rate (bpm). RESULTS: Observed mean resting pulse rate was higher for girls than boys (82.2 bpm vs 78.7 bpm). During the study period mean pulse rate increased by 0.07 bpm/year (95% CI 0.04 to 0.09) among boys and to a lesser extent among girls, by 0.04 bpm/year (0.01 to 0.06) (p