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There have been an increasing number of reports in recent years which have highlighted that the aerobic fitness test performances of Australian and New Zealand children and adolescents are declining. Some researchers have previously commented on secular changes in performance, but have used data dating back only to 1985. Using a metaanalytical approach, this study aimed to quantify the secular changes in the aerobic fitness test performances of Australasian (Australian and New Zealand) children and adolescents over the past half a century.

Forty-six studies reporting on the aerobic fitness test performances of healthy Australasian children and adolescents were included in the analysis. Corrections for methodological variation were made where possible, and data for each aerobic fitness test were expressed in a common metric. Raw data were merged with pseudo data generated …