Exploring the Diagnostic Accuracy of the KidFit Screening Tool for Identifying Children with Health and Motor Performance-Related Fitness Impairments: A Feasibility Study.

Nikki Milne,Wayne Hing,Gary M Leong

doi:10.3390/ijerph17030995

Nikki Milne, Wayne Hing + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030995

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Abstract

Child obesity is associated with poor health and reduced motor skills. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the KidFit Screening Tool for identifying children with overweight/obesity, reduced motor skills and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness. Fifty-seven children (mean age: 12.57 ± 1.82 years; male/female: 34/23) were analysed. The Speed and Agility Motor Screen (SAMS) and the Modified Shuttle Test-Paeds (MSTP) made up the KidFit Screening Tool. Motor Proficiency (BOT2) (Total and Gross) was also measured. BMI, peak-oxygen-uptake (VO2peak) were measured with a representative sub-sample (n = 25). Strong relationships existed between the independent variables included in the KidFit Screening Tool and; BMI (R2 = 0.779, p < 0.001); Gross Motor Proficiency (R2 = 0.612, p < 0.001) and VO2peak (mL/kg/min) (R2 = 0.754, p < 0.001). The KidFit Screening Tool has a correct classification rate of 0.84 for overweight/obesity, 0.77 for motor proficiency and 0.88 for cardiorespiratory fitness. The sensitivity and specificity of the KidFit Screening Tool for identifying children with overweight/obesity was 100% (SE = 0.00) and 78.95%, respectively (SE = 0.09), motor skills in the lowest quartile was 90% (SE = 0.095) and 74.47% (SE = 0.064), respectively, and poor cardiorespiratory fitness was 100% (SE = 0.00) and 82.35% (SE = 0.093), respectively. The KidFit Screening Tool has a strong relationship with health- and performance-related fitness, is accurate for identifying children with health- and performance-related fitness impairments and may assist in informing referral decisions for detailed clinical investigations.

Highlights

The rising prevalence of obesity over recent decades and the current rates of child obesity in Australia and internationally remain a concern for health and education workers and policy makers alike
This study initially aimed to determine if a relationship existed between the collective components of the newly designed KidFit Screening Tool (i.e., Modified Shuttle Test-Paeds (MSTP) and Speed and Agility Motor Screen (SAMS)) and the dependent health and performance-related fitness variables of Body Mass Index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and Motor Proficiency (Total and Gross) in children
The results of this study indicate that the KidFit Screening Tool has a strong and significant relationship with the health-related fitness measures of BMI and VO2peak

Summary

Introduction

The rising prevalence of obesity over recent decades and the current rates of child obesity in Australia and internationally remain a concern for health and education workers and policy makers alike. Child overweight and obesity is associated with poor health outcomes such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, dyslipidaemia and fatty liver disease [1]. Further association has been shown with idiopathic intracranial hypertension [2] and obstructive sleep apnoea [3,4,5], which can result in daytime somnolence and neurocognitive deficits such as reduced concentration and poor memory [6,7]. Some researchers believe that these neurocognitive deficits may be responsible for the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI), an indicator of excess adiposity among children [8], and academic achievement [9]; recent research indicates an absence. Public Health 2020, 17, 995; doi:10.3390/ijerph17030995 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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