Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Physique Health Standard for College Students was formulated to make a better evaluation for college students’ constitution and to provide scientific basis for macroeconomic policy making and the corresponding preventive measures.
OBJECTIVE: To understand physical condition of college students and to explore the law of physical development.
METHODS: Documents from 1985 to 2002 containing 19-22 years old Han college students lived in 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China were selected using ways of stratified and random cluster sampling. The physical indexes, including body height, body weight, chest circumference, vital capacity, 50-m running, standing long jump, anterior curvaturein standing body, 1 000-m running (boy) or 800-m running (girl) were analyzed to evaluate the physical states, functions and body quality. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The growth rate of college students’ body shape had the characteristics of the overall acceleration and rapid growth; the symmetrical body plumpness and body shape were in the normal range; lung function exhibited declined with age increasing, especially in boys. Compared with previous data, quality of Chinese students in 2002 showed decline tendency in speed, power, flexibility and endurance. Accordingly, on one hand, students in the sub-health physique should be examined in time; on the other hand, the intervention measures, such as physical activity and scientific health education should be enhanced.