Currently available evidence strongly supports the need to assess physical fitness in youth from a clinical and public health point of view. After the development of the ALPHA battery for children and adolescents (6 to 18 years), we identified the need of assessing fitness even at earlier ages, i.e. in preschool children (3 to 5 years). In this context, our research group has worked in the development of fitness-test battery to assessing fitness in a harmonized way across Spain, Europe and internationally in preschool age by means of the PREFIT project, Assessing FITness in PREschoolers.

After systematically reviewing the literature and conducting several methodological studies we proposed the PREFIT fitness-test battery to be used in preschool children (3 to 5 years-old) which has demonstrated to be feasible and reliable in this age group.

Below, researchers and practitioners will find several resources developed by the PROFITH research group which are needed for assessing physical fitness in preschool children:

• Systematic review: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25370201
  
  
• Article in English about the feasibility, reliability and practical recommendations for the correct use of the PREFIT battery: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26947061
  
  
• Article in Spanish about the adaptation of the original 20m shuttle run test for preschool children (PREFIT 20m shuttle run test): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25433116
  
  
• Article in English about what is the proper grip span when assessing handgrip strength in preschoolers: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26141024
  
  
• Article about the validity and reliability of different models of TKK hand dynamometers: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27294996
  
  

• Manual of operations and protocols of the tests in English: Download PDF
  
  

• Audio (English version) for the performance of the cardiorespiratory fitness test (PREFIT 20m shuttle run test) which starts at 6.5 km/h instead of 8.5km/h of the original protocol.
  
  
  • Download the audio in Spanish
  • Download the audio in English
    
    
  • PREFIT Percentile Calculator for Fatness and Fitness in preschoolers

• Videos about how to perform and score the fitness tests: