Abstract
Swimming is a form of physical activity and a life-saving skill. However, only a few studies have identified swimming ability classifiers in preschool children. This pilot cross-sectional study aimed to find anthropometric (AM) and motor competence (MC) predictors of swimming ability in preschool children, by building classifiers of swimming ability group (SAG) membership. We recruited 92 children (girls n = 45) aged 5–6 years and took the AM and MC measurements in accordance with the reference manual and using the KTK battery test (motor quotient, MQ), respectively. A linear discriminant analysis tested a classification model of preschoolers’ swimming ability (SAG: POOR, GOOD, EXCELLENT) based on gender, age, AM, and MC variables and extracted one significant canonical discriminant function (model fit: 61.2%) that can differentiate (group centroids) POOR (−1.507), GOOD (0.032), and EXCELLENT (1.524). The MQ total was identified as a significant classifier, which absolutely contributed to the discriminant function that classifies children’s swimming ability as POOR (standardized canonical coefficient: 1.186), GOOD (1.363), or EXCELLENT (1.535) with an accuracy of 64.1%. Children with higher MQ total ought to be classified into higher SAG; thus, the classification model of SAG based on the MQ total is presented.
Highlights
Swimming ability, as a narrower term of aquatic competence [1], has been acknowledged a life-saving skill [2,3], since drowning is one of the most common causes of unintentional injury deaths throughout the world [4]
This study aimed to find classifiers of swimming ability among the studied AM and motor competence (MC) variables in preschool children, building a predictive model that classifies children at the age of five years according to swimming ability group
This is the first study on identifying AM and MC predictors of swimming ability in preschool children by building classifiers of swimming ability group (SAG) membership
Summary
As a narrower term of aquatic competence [1], has been acknowledged a life-saving skill [2,3], since drowning is one of the most common causes of unintentional injury deaths throughout the world [4]. As the self-propulsion of a person through water, swimming is a physical activity used in sports performance, recreation, and therapy. Swimming ensures many health benefits across all ages, mostly represented in the current literature as an effective nonpharmacological intervention for children with asthma [5]. Previous studies have proposed that swimming has a beneficial impact on pulmonary functions and respiratory muscle strength of healthy boys [6]. Cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition of healthy children [7,8]. Public Health 2020, 17, 6331; doi:10.3390/ijerph17176331 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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