Abstract
Children who are overweight and obese display lower physical activity levels than normal weight peers. Measures of weight status, perceived motor competence, and motor skill performance have been identified as potential correlates explaining this discrepancy. 1881 children (955 males; 926 females; 9.9 years) were assessed as part of the Physical Health Activity Study Team project. The age, habitual physical activity participation (PAP), body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic status (SES), motor performance (MP), and perceived athletic competence (PAC) of each child included were assessed. Gender-specific linear regression analyses (main effects model) were conducted to identify the percent variance in PAP explained by the following variables: BMI, MP, and PAC. For males, 18.3% of the variance in PAP was explained by BMI, MP, and PAC. PAC explained 17% of the variance, while MP, BMI, and SES only accounted for 0.6%, 0.7%, and 0.5%, respectively. PAC explained 17.5% of PAP variance in females; MP explained 0.8%. BMI, SES, and chronological age were not significant correlates of PAP in girls. An established repertoire of motor skill performance has been seen as a vehicle to PAP in children; however, this study indicates that PAC should not be overlooked in intervention strategies to promote increased PAP.
Highlights
Childhood obesity is recognized as one of the top public health issues in North America [1, 2]. e prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in the United States (U.S.) and Canada is approximately 32%
Of the 2190 participants assessed in the Physical Health Activity Study Team (PHAST) spring 2005 cohort, 1881 children (955 males; 926 females) had values recorded for age, height, weight, motor performance testing, perceived athletic competence, physical activity, and socioeconomic status
Each item can be scored from 1 to 4. Both the total subscale and average subscale scores can be reported. e Self-Perception Profile for Children states that the “athletic competence items primarily refer to one’s ability to do well at sports, including outdoor games, demonstrating one’s athletic prowess.” e perceived athletic competence subscale relates most closely to performance of motor skills and their application to sports participation. erefore, since a true measure of perceived motor competence was not utilized in the PHAST study, the perceived athletic competence (PAC) total subscale score was used in this analysis
Summary
Childhood obesity is recognized as one of the top public health issues in North America [1, 2]. e prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in the United States (U.S.) and Canada is approximately 32%. Ese findings suggest that motor performance abilities and perceived motor competence could be important factors to address when attempting to increase the physical activity levels of children, especially in those who are overweight or obese. The model further suggests that if a child is overweight/obese, he/she may display poor motor performance and low perceived motor competence that could lead to a further decline in physical activity participation. E model further suggests that unhealthy weight or obesity may be the result of a “perfect storm” of poor perceived motor competence, low motor competence, and low physical activity levels. Several studies have examined the bivariate correlations between physical activity, body mass index (BMI) or weight status, perceived athletic competence, and motor performance; there is a need for a multiple regression analysis that examines these variables simultaneously due to their unique synergistic relationship. E purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to examine the relative influence of age, BMI, motor performance, perceived athletic competence, and SES on physical activity participation in children and (2) to examine the interactions among BMI, motor performance, and perceived athletic competence on physical activity participation in children
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