Abstract
The main goal of our cross-sectional research was to determine the current values of gross motor coordination (GMC) of Italian boys and girls between 6 and 13 years of age. Secondary goals were to study gender differences, and the four subtests trend with ages. Results were compared with the references proposed by KTK authors and with similar searches. Anthropometric measurements and KTK data from 2,206 schoolchildren (girls: n = 1,050; boys: n = 1,156) were collected. The KTK raw score (RS) increased with the age of the subjects (r = 0.678; p < 0.001). In 11–13-year-old subjects, the increase in results is less than in younger subjects. RS showed differences by gender (F = 5.899; p = 0.015) and age (F = 269.193; p < 0.001) without interaction gender × age. Motor quotient (MQ) tended to decrease with age (r = −0.148; p < 0.001); it showed differences by gender (F = 79.228; p < 0.001), age (F = 14.217; p < 0.001), and an interaction gender × age (F = 2.249; p < 0.05). Boys showed better performance than did girls in the raw scores of three of four subtests (JS: F = 24.529; MS: F = 9.052; HH: F = 11.105). Girls show better performances than did boys in the WB (F = 14.52). Differences between genders make us believe it appropriate to maintain a differentiated standardization. RS increased with age, and it seems reasonable, therefore, to maintain a GMC age-based normalization. On the contrary, MQ tended to decrease. All this makes us speculate that today's young people accumulate less significant motor experiences over the years compared to those achieved by their peers in the 1970s. Italian data were lower than German references and Belgian results but slightly higher than the Brazilian ones. The comparison among these four searches confirmed a worrying downward trend in GMC and its characterization by geographical and sociocultural areas. Updated parameters of the KTK can provide helpful references to improve policies to support physical activity, sport, and physical education in youth.
Highlights
Motor learning and control characterize children development and their adaptation to the physical and social environment
Secondary goals were to study gender differences, and the four subtests trend with ages
We assume an increase in raw values that slowed down with increasing age
Summary
Motor learning and control characterize children development and their adaptation to the physical and social environment. Basic stability and locomotor abilities, often defined as “gross motor coordination” (GMC), involve the control of two or more body segments and/or the global movement of the body in space [3] These two aspects of movement are fundamental both in the acquisition of fundamental motor skills (FMS) and in the development of specialized movements and techniques of daily life and sport. FMS is generally categorized into basic locomotor skills that lead children to transfer the body in space (e.g., walking and running) and object control skills that allow them to manipulate and project objects (i.e., striking, kicking, etc.) [4] In both cases, both the stability and the coordination of the body segments are necessary for a mastery of the movements [2]
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