Examining Motor Skill, Body Weight and Physical Activity in Kindergarteners

Background/Purpose: Obesity has reached epidemic levels in the pediatric population and conveyed an increased risk of obesity later in life (Ogden, 2010). Increasing levels of physical activity and physical fitness are often proposed as a critical way to prevent childhood obesity and develop healthy lifestyle (USDHHS, 2010). It is generally recognized that fundamental motor skills are the basis for physical activity and health weight status, and should be promoted in the early childhood (Bonvin et al., 2012; Stodden et al., 2009). Stodden and his colleagues’ conceptual model (Stodden et al., 2008) also suggests that developing motor skill competence is paramount to understand why students choose to be either active or inactive, which may help identify behavioral mechanisms of obesity in early childhood. However, the data in kindergarteners is limited in the current pediatric literature. Guided by Stodden et al’s conceptual model, the main purpose of this study was to examine the interactions among motor skills, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity in 5-6 year old children.

Method: A prospective design was used in this study across two semesters. Participants (n = 258, boys =135, girls = 123) were randomly recruited and assessed from three public kindergartens.  Children’s motor skills including dribbling, hopping, throwing, and sliding (PE Metrics ^TM; NASPE, 2010) and BMI were assessed in the middle of the Fall semester. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was measured by accelerometers in the subsequent spring semester.

Analysis/Results: Both locomotor skills (hopping and sliding; β = .14, p < .02; β = .21, p < 0.01, respectively) and manipulative skills (throwing; β = .23, p < 0.01) were positively related to MVPA. Hopping and sliding were positively associated with BMI. There was no correlation between BMI and MVPA among this age group. Gender was a significant predictor of manipulative skills but not for MVPA. Regression analyses indicated that, for girls, locomotor skills explained significant variance in their MVPA (β = .34, p < .001). For boys, manipulative skills emerged as significant predictors of their MVPA (β = .18, p < .036).

Conclusions: Young children with higher levels of motor skills were more active than their peers with lower more skills. The results provide primary evidence to support Stodden et al.’s (2008) conceptual model that physical activity can be directed towards skill acquisition, which is an essential element needed in school endeavors for fighting childhood obesity in early childhood.