Elementary School Students in Noto Region Show Decline in Physical Endurance; Decline May Come from Changes in Living Environment

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:58 JST, June 29, 2025

Elementary school students in areas affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake are declining in physical endurance, according to a study by an associate professor.

Physical endurance can be improved by strengthening muscles and cardiopulmonary functions through exercises such as walking and running. The decline in physical endurance seems to have been caused by a decrease in opportunities for students to do physical exercises. One of the reasons is that school buses have been used to take them to and from school in areas that saw schools consolidated after the earthquake.

Ryosuke Tsuda, associate professor at Kanazawa Medical University, analyzed the results of the National Survey of Physical Fitness, Athletic Performance and Exercise Habits for 217 male and female sixth graders who graduated in March 2025 in the northern part of the Noto Peninsula. The region was severely affected by the earthquake.

He then compared data taken before the earthquake, when the students were fourth and fifth graders, with the post-earthquake data taken when they were sixth graders. The data showed that the results of the “shuttle run” test, which requires physical endurance, declined and slowed down.

In the shuttle run, students run back and forth between two points 20 meters apart for a set amount of time. Usually, students in higher grades can do more runs. The latest analysis shows that the number of shuttle runs by girls increased from 39.5 when they were in the fourth grade to 45.4 when they were in the fifth grade. However, the number declined to 44.3 when they were in the sixth grade after the earthquake. The number was lower than that of the previous year’s sixth graders with 51.2 runs.

The number of shuttle runs by boys also increased from 47.4 when they were fourth graders to 52.3 as fifth graders, while it remained almost unchanged at 52.7 when they were in the sixth grade. The number was also lower than that of the previous year’s sixth graders with 59.4.

As for the 50-meter run, which requires students to use their leg and hip muscles, both boys and girls were 0.1 to 0.2 seconds slower than the previous year’s sixth graders.

There was no noticeable change in activities that require flexibility and athletic skills, such as bending forward and throwing balls.

“Although the data analyzed was limited, it is possible that the decline of the results of activities that involve daily exercises has been caused by changes in [the students’] living environment,” Tsuda said.

“Many schools have limited spaces for exercises, such as temporary school buildings built on school grounds, and it is necessary to consider ways to offer more opportunities for students to exercise,” he added.