What do FitnessGRAM results mean?
Quite simply, FitnessGRAM is a measure of your child's level of health-related fitness. Children's scores either fall within the Healthy Fitness Zone or the in the Needs Improvement Zone.
A Score in the Healthy Fitness Zone represents the level of fitness needed for good overall health that is thought to provide some protection against certain diseases and chronic conditions, such as diabetes or coronary heart disease.
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with my child's body compositions being tested. Why is testing BMI an important component and how is it calculated?
A body composition measurement can be used to identify risk for future health problems sue to excess body weight. An unhealthy body composition significantly increases risk for developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and more. The percentage of children and teens with an unhealthy body composition has increased significantly over the past 40 years.
Most likely, your child's body composition will be assessed through a measure called body mass index (BMI), which is non-invasive and usually determined by measuring your child's height and weight. There are other methods of determining body composition that your child's teacher or school may choose to use, including body fat assessment by a bioelectrical impedance analyzer or skinfold measurement.
Who sees my child's scores?
Your child's scores are recorded and should be available only to the teacher, your child, and you. In no way should your child's score be posted publicly for other students to view or for anyone to make judgement on your child.
How is the information from the FitnessGRAM assessment used?
A fitness assessment is a valuable educational tool that can help students learn how to set and reach their health-related fitness and physical activity goals.
The assessment helps identify your child's current level of fitness and should be included with information of how to help your child improve or maintain his or her fitness. In some cases, your child's scores may be lumped together with the scores of all the other children in the school who participated in the assessment.