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CHAPTER . IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND METHOD

The survey on people's physical strength and athletic abilities by the Ministry of Education reveals that these generally increase with age and physique, reaching a peak at the age of seventeen for males and fifteen for females, with little development thereafter.

Table 38. Increase in Physical Strength and Athletic Abilities

Improvements in physical strength and athletic abilities can be shown by comparing those of 10 and 14 year olds in 1964 with those in 1968. With the exception of the ability of 10 years old boys to throw softball and of 14 years old boys to bend forward (flexibility of body), the physical strength and athletic abilities of children in these two age groups have increased. This can be attributed to the physical improvements shown above. Although it is often said that children's physical strength has been generally decreasing, this may merely imply that the increase in physical strength has not been as large as the increase in physical features.