Is body fat mass associated with worse gross motor skills in preschoolers? An exploratory study

Effects of an 8-Week Active Play Intervention on Body Composition and Fundamental Motor Skills in Preschool Children

Objective: Examine the effect of an 8-week teacher-guided active play intervention on preschoolers' body composition and fundamental motor skills. Methods: Participants were from two local preschool centers randomly assigned to either the intervention (n = 25, 3.91 ± 0.53 years) or the control group (n = 25, 3.69 ± 0.81 years). All measures were assessed at baseline (week 0), post-intervention (weeks 9-11), and follow-up (weeks 30-33). Bioelectrical Impedance assessed body composition (fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM)). The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2) assessed fundamental motor skills (gross motor quartile (GMQ)). Results: A significant Group × Time interaction for GMQ at post-intervention (p = 0.03), with the intervention group scoring significantly higher on GMQ. A significant main effect of Time (p < 0.001) indicated that GMQ increased in both groups across the 33-week period. For FM, a significant main effect of Time at both post-intervention (p < 0.05) and follow-up testing (p < 0.001) indicated that participants increased FM over the 33-week period. Lastly, there was a significant main effect of Time for FFM at post-intervention (p = 0.003) and follow-up (p < 0.001). Interestingly, there was a significant Group × Time interaction (p < 0.05) at follow-up testing showing that FFM increased over time but significantly more for the control group. Conclusions: Results indicate that active play interventions might be a successful pathway to improve gross motor skills in young children. Further research is needed to understand the effect that active play interventions have on body composition in preschoolers.

Biocultural correlates of gross motor coordination in prepubescent children: A cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aimed to explore the association of gross motor coordination (GMC) with a matrix of biocultural factors in prepubescent children, taking into account weight status, somatic maturation, sociodemographic variables, and type of school.

METHODS

One hundred twenty-nine prepubescent children, of both sexes, aged between 8.00 and 8.99, were assessed for GMC (Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder - KTK), weight status, biological maturation (predicted mature stature), sex, mother's education level and type of school. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between higher values of KTK and associated biocultural factors.

RESULTS

Normoponderal children are more likely to attain better total KTK scores than those with overweight or obesity (OR: 2.942; LC 95%: 1.189, 7.280). In addition, children who are more advanced in terms of biological maturation exhibited significantly lower odds of being in the high KTK category than their less advanced peers (OR: 0.670; LC 95%: 0.474,0.946). Sex, mother's education level and the type of school are not associated with higher performance on KTK.

CONCLUSION

Weight status and biological maturation are associated with motor competence in prepubescent children. Future studies should consider additional correlates to better understand the complex interactions between biological, psychosocial and behavioral factors in the prediction of motor competence.

Individual and environmental parameters in children with and without developmental coordination disorder: associations with physical activity and body mass index

Introduction

Physical Activity (PA) is a complex behavior, and the relevance of other factors such as BMI, SES and children's behavior at school and home still lacks investigation for children, especially those at risk or with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The objective of this study was to examine whether socioeconomic status (SES), school's spaces for children's movement, active play, screen time, motor skill proficiency, perceived motor competence, and engagement in the physical education lessons were associated with PA and BMI in children with typical development (TD), at risk of DCD (r-DCD), and with DCD.

Methods

Children (N = 352; 4-10-year-old) from six public schools in a major urban city, in southern of Brazil, were assessed regarding motor skill proficiency (locomotor and ball skills), perceived motor competence, and weight status. PA and engagement in the lesson were assessed using pedometers and a behavior checklist of motor experience of success. Parents recorded the daily time that children spent on screen and in active play.

Results

The hierarchical multivariate linear regressions showed that age, sex, SES, Schools with more favorable space for children's movement, locomotor and ball skills, and successful engagement, were associated with PA for children with TD. Age, screen time, locomotor, and successful engagement were associated with BMI. For children at r-DCD, age, sex, SES, with more favorable space for children's movement, and locomotor were associated with PA. Age, active play and screen time were associated with BMI. For children with DCD, sex, SES, Schools with more favorable space for children's movement, screen time, and successful engagement were associated with PA. Age, sex, active play, and screen time were associated with BMI.

Conclusion

Different factors were associated with PA and BMI for children with different levels of motor impairment (r-DCD and DCD) and children with TD.

Motor skills at 7 years of age and spinal pain at 11 years of age: a cohort study of 26,000 preadolescents

This study aims to investigate the relationship between motor skills at age 7 and spinal pain at age 11. The study included participants from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Data on motor skills were obtained from the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, completed by the mothers when the children were 7 years old, and spinal pain was self-reported at age 11 for frequency and intensity of neck, mid back, and low back pain. This was categorized into "no," "moderate," or "severe" pain, based on frequency and pain intensity. Associations were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models. Data on both motor skills and spinal pain was available for 25,000 children. There was a consistent pattern of reporting more neck or mid back pain at age 11 for those with lower levels of fine motor skills and coordination scores at age 11. The relationship was significant for severe pain (the highest relative risk ratio being 1.87 and the lowest 1.18), but not for moderate pain (the highest relative risk ratio being 1.22 and the lowest 1.07). Gross motor skills were not associated with spinal pain, and there was no relationship between low back pain and motor skills.  Conclusion: Our results indicate a link between motor development at 7 years of age and neck and mid back pain, but not low back pain, at 11 years of age. Improvement of motor skills in young children might reduce the future burden of neck and mid back pain and should be a target of future research. What is Known: • Spinal pain in preadolescence and adolescence is common and predisposes to spinal pain in adulthood. • Motor skills influence the biomechanics of movement and therefore has a potential impact on musculoskeletal health. What is New: • Poor fine motor- and coordination skills in childhood were associated with increased risk of severe neck- or mid back pain, but not low back pain, four 4 years later. • Poor gross motor skills were not associated with higher risk of later spinal pain.

A school-family blended multi-component physical activity program for Fundamental Motor Skills Promotion Program for Obese Children (FMSPPOC): protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Fundamental motor skills (FMSs) are crucial for children's health and comprehensive development. Obese children often encounter a considerable challenge in the development of FMSs. School-family blended PA programs are considered a potentially effective approach to improve FMSs and health-related outcomes among obese children, however, empirical evidence is still limited. Therefore, this paper aims to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a 24-week school-family blended multi-component PA intervention program for promoting FMSs and health among Chinese obese children, namely the Fundamental Motor Skills Promotion Program for Obese Children (FMSPPOC) employing behavioral change techniques (BCTs) and building on the Multi-Process Action Control (M-PAC) framework as well as using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework for improving and evaluating the program.

METHODS

Using a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT), 168 Chinese obese children (8-12 years) from 24 classes of six primary schools will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups by a cluster randomization, including a 24-week FMSPPOC intervention group and a non-treatment waiting-list control group. The FMSPPOC program includes a 12-week initiation phase and a 12-week maintenance phase. School-based PA training sessions (2 sessions/week, 90 min each session) and family-based PA assignments (at least three times per week, 30 min each time) will be implemented in the initiation phase (semester time), while three 60-min offline workshops and three 60-min online webinars will be conducted in the maintenance phase (summer holiday). The implementation evaluation will be undertaken according to the RE-AIM framework. For intervention effectiveness evaluation, primary outcome (FMSs: gross motor skills, manual dexterity and balance) and secondary outcomes (health behaviors, physical fitness, perceived motor competence, perceived well-being, M-PAC components, anthropometric and body composition measures) will be collected at four time-points: at baseline, 12-week mid-intervention, 24-week post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up occasions.

DISCUSSION

The FMSPPOC program will provide new insights into the design, implementation, and evaluation of FMSs promotion among obese children. The research findings will also supplement empirical evidence, understanding of potential mechanisms, and practical experience for future research, health services, and policymaking.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry; ChiCTR2200066143; 25 Nov 2022.