Abstract

The Haward step test was performed by 34 male and 32 female students of physical education in Milan. The height and weight of each subject were measured andthe proportion of fat in the body calculated from skinfold measurements. The physical characteristics and fitness inices of the Italian students were compared with those of English, Scottish, American, and South African students studied in previous investigations. The Italian men were taller than the English but shorter and lighter than the Americans. They had little body fat but not significantly less than the other students in whom this parameter was measured. On the Harvard step test they were fitter than the Americans but less fit than the English. The Italian women did not differ significantly in height from the other groups but they were lighter than English and South African women students and less fat than Scottish. They were fitter than the Americans but did not differ significantly in this respect from the othergroups. The different degrees of physical fitness attained by different national groups may be due to more or less strenuous physical activity, in the different courses of instruction. Verf.-Referat