Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse and evaluate the fitness of Primary Education school students in order to learn about the difference between students who live in rural areas and those living in urban areas. We selected 253 students doing the second and third stages of Primary Education. The sample was classified by type of school into two groups, urban and rural. All students underwent an anthropometric assessment (height, weight, BMI, WH ratio), vertical jump assessment (CMJ), flexibility (sit and reach test), strength (hand dynamometer) and endurance (multistage fitness test). Our findings show differences in anthropometric level where rural school students presented higher rates of overweight. By contrast, the results obtained in the fitness evaluation show that in the strength, endurance and flexibility tests the rural school students achieved better results than the urban school students, while in the vertical jump rural students had higher values.