Impact of a Fundamental Motor Skill Intervention on Low-Income Preschoolers’ Body Composition

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction/Purpose Fundamental motor skills (FMS)—the building blocks of play, recreation, and sport—are deficient in overweight and obese children. FMS interventions may curb increasing childhood obesity rates. This randomized control trial aimed to determine the effect of an FMS intervention on fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and body mass index (BMI) in preschool-aged children (ages 3–5 yr) attending a low-income preschool. Researchers hypothesized that children in the intervention would have increased FFM. Methods Eleven preschool classes (n = 136; mean age, 4.3 yr; 74% Black) were randomly assigned to the intervention (6 classes) or control (5 classes) groups. Participants in the intervention group attended a 30-min FMS intervention two times per week for 9 months, whereas the control group simultaneously participated in outdoor-free play. FM and FFM were measured with foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance before and after intervention. BMI was measured using height and weight. Results At baseline, the control group had significantly more FM (t 76 = −2.12, P = 0.04) and FFM (t 76 = −2.59, P = 0.01) than the intervention group. A mixed-effects analysis of variance examined differences in FM, FFM, and BMI with respect to group, sex, and time. Significant time by group interactions were found for FM (P = 0.05), FFM (P = 0.01), and BMI (P = 0.05). The intervention group increased FM, FFM, and BMI by 12.93%, 9.11%, and 0.75%, respectively, whereas the control group increased FM, FFM, and BMI by 23.60%, 12.75%, and 5.30%, respectively. Conclusions The findings of the current study suggest that an FMS intervention can delay additions of FM. It is further evident that increases in FM occurred at an alarming rate in primarily Black preschool children from a low-income center. The findings emphasize the importance of FMS in obesity prevention and measuring body composition in preschool children.