Relationships of motor performance, migration background, BMI, sports participation and TV consumption among children aged 6 to 14 years: A cross-sectional study with 3293 primary and secondary school children

The present article investigates whether migration background is an independent contributor to physical fitness in children and adolescents or whether the observed differences can be explained by other factors. A total of 3293 primary school (7.7 +/- 1.2 years) and secondary school (11.5 +/- 1.2 years) students participated in the study. A fitness score of 103.5 +/- 6.9 in the total group reflects an above average performance. The influence of migration background was explained by club sports membership, TV in room and BMI, with BMI having the strongest effect. The present results could have important implications for intervention and prevention approaches.