Nikki Milne1, Gary M Leong2, Wayne Hing1. 1. Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. 2. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract
AIMS: The overall purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and health-related fitness in children. In addition, the study aimed to determine if particular combinations of motor skills have a stronger relationship with individual health-related fitness measures. METHODS: Seventy-seven children (F:28, M:49) (mean age: 11.19 ± 2.74 years) participated in this prospective cohort study. Physical measures included the following: motor proficiency (Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate and VO(2) peak (mL/kg/min). RESULTS: After factoring in age, motor proficiency as a combined total score had a strong negative relationship with the health-related fitness measures of BMI (r (2) = 0.62, P < 0.001) and waist circumference (r (2) = 0.72, P < 0.001) and a strong positive relationship with VO2 peak (r (2) = 0.78, P = 0.002). Children with lower motor proficiency (≤25th percentile) had a significantly larger mean waist circumference (M = 13.85 cm, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.05, 25.66), P = 0.01), heavier weight (M = 22.17 kg, 95% CI (2.44, 41.91), P = 0.02) and higher BMI (M = 5.10 kg/m(2) , 95% CI (0.33, 9.87), P = 0.03) than children with higher motor proficiency (≤75th percentile). CONCLUSIONS: Motor proficiency, once corrected for age, is significantly related to a number of health-related measures in children and should therefore be considered a focus for investigation for children with poor health-related fitness (e.g. high BMI and waist circumference percentiles or low cardiorespiratory fitness), as motor incompetence could be an underlying contributing factor to a child's poor physical health.
AIMS: The overall purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and health-related fitness in children. In addition, the study aimed to determine if particular combinations of motor skills have a stronger relationship with individual health-related fitness measures. METHODS: Seventy-seven children (F:28, M:49) (mean age: 11.19 ± 2.74 years) participated in this prospective cohort study. Physical measures included the following: motor proficiency (Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate and VO(2) peak (mL/kg/min). RESULTS: After factoring in age, motor proficiency as a combined total score had a strong negative relationship with the health-related fitness measures of BMI (r (2) = 0.62, P < 0.001) and waist circumference (r (2) = 0.72, P < 0.001) and a strong positive relationship with VO2 peak (r (2) = 0.78, P = 0.002). Children with lower motor proficiency (≤25th percentile) had a significantly larger mean waist circumference (M = 13.85 cm, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.05, 25.66), P = 0.01), heavier weight (M = 22.17 kg, 95% CI (2.44, 41.91), P = 0.02) and higher BMI (M = 5.10 kg/m(2) , 95% CI (0.33, 9.87), P = 0.03) than children with higher motor proficiency (≤75th percentile). CONCLUSIONS: Motor proficiency, once corrected for age, is significantly related to a number of health-related measures in children and should therefore be considered a focus for investigation for children with poor health-related fitness (e.g. high BMI and waist circumference percentiles or low cardiorespiratory fitness), as motor incompetence could be an underlying contributing factor to a child's poor physical health.
Authors: Cristina Comeras-Chueca; Jorge Marin-Puyalto; Angel Matute-Llorente; German Vicente-Rodriguez; Jose A Casajus; Alex Gonzalez-Aguero Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-06-29 Impact factor: 3.390