magazine on effects of jumping in children

The researchers explained that environment, the one factor that could not be standardized across the two study locations, may have influenced this result. However, the results for the sprint test showed the habitually shod children performed better, particularly those in the 11-14 year age group, and both groups performed better while shod. The habitually barefoot children also performed better when barefoot than when shod. This difference was observed in both test conditions (barefoot and shod) and across all age groups (6-10, 11-14, and 15-18 years), but was particularly evident in 6-10 year old children. The habitually barefoot participants scored significantly higher in the balance and jumping tests compared to the habitually shod participants. The two groups were selected to represent different footwear lifestyles: children from South Africa are habitually barefoot, while children from Germany wear shoes most of the time. The cohort comprised 810 children and adolescents from 22 primary and secondary schools across rural Western Cape South Africa and urban areas of northern Germany. While these beneficial barefoot effects diminished in older adolescents, the research nevertheless highlights the importance of barefoot exercise for motor development as children grow and mature. The study, published in a recent issue of Frontiers in Pediatrics, shows that habitually barefoot children are noticeably better at jumping and balancing compared to habitually shod children, particularly from 6-10 years of age.

Toward this end, she and two research teams assessed the relevance of growing up shod versus barefoot on jumping, balancing, and sprinting motor performance during different stages of childhood and adolescence. “Walking barefoot is widely thought to be more natural, and the use of footwear has long been discussed as an influencing factor on foot health and movement pattern development,” said Astrid Zech, PhD, from the Institute of Sport Science, Friedrich Schille University of Jena, Germany.

Magazine on effects of jumping in children