Abstract
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to compare the postural control between eight-year-old boys and girls, considering the nutritional classification and level of physical activity. This was a cross-sectional study, with a sample of 346 participants, classified by the WHO AnthroPlus software, evaluated on the force platform and the Questionnaire Physical Activity for Children. The results demonstrated that girls showed lower values in relation to the opposite sex (p<0.001), in the center of pressure area (COP) (girls: 11.88 vs boys: 15.86cm2), Antero-posterior Amplitude (girl: 5.40 vs boy: 6.05cm), Medial-lateral Amplitude (girl: 3.97 vs boy: 4.40cm), Antero-posterior velocity (girl: 3.98 vs boy: 4.94cm/s), Medial-lateral velocity (girl: 3.98 vs boy: 4.59cm/s), Antero-posterior frequency (girl: 0.70 vs boy: 0.84Hz). Physical activity was associated with male sex (p=0.001; X2=11.195; odds ratio=0.372). In relation to the center of pressure of sedentary children, girls showed better postural control (p<0.001), but when we analyzed the center of pressure of both sexes who were active there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.112). The Z score of both sexes presented no difference in the center of pressure area (p=0.809 and p=0.785 respectively). Girls showed better postural control, while boys are more active; when both sexes performed physical activity COP area was similar. Therefore, special care should be taken when assessing postural control in boys and girls due to their differences in test performance and stage of development. As for interventions, exercise should be considered for better performance of the COP.
Highlights
Postural control involves the body’s ability to perform activities and maintain a state of balance during quiet standing and during movement, providing stability and orientation[1]
The force platform (FP) converts the displacement of the center of gravity into electrical signals that can be amplified, recorded, and analyzed.The results provide oscillation measurements such as center of pressure area (COP Area) in cm[2], antero-posterior and medial-lateral amplitudes (AP Amp/ML Amp), antero-posterior and medial-lateral velocity (AP Veloc/ ML Veloc) in cm/s, antero-posterior and medial-lateral frequency (AP Freq/ML Freq) (Hz)
Puberty rather than chronological age could influence brain maturation and the behavior and capabilities involved[13]. Another hypothesis is that the morphological factors of the female body change its distribution of mass, lowering its center of gravity compared to males of the same height and decreasing the values of postural oscillation[30]. The children of both sexes evaluated in this study had a low level of physical activity; when the groups were compared, the boys were more active than the girls.This result agrees with previous studies by Silva and Malina[31], and Cohen et al.[24]
Summary
Postural control involves the body’s ability to perform activities and maintain a state of balance during quiet standing (static posture) and during movement (dynamic posture), providing stability and orientation[1]. Postural control is an aspect of motor control; it is influenced by the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems and by proprioceptive stimuli[2]. The postural control depends on the maturation of the structures involved, as well as on the child’s motor experiences[3]. Motor development is largely affected by experience; as such, the environment and task can cause the individual to vary postural control activity, according to the theory of dynamic systems[4]. Regular physical activity is essential for postural control as it promotes stimuli to develop, maintain, or recover balance. Physical activity incorporates and automates some fundamental skills to postural control, due to the stimulation of the neuromuscular structure[6]. Changes in lifestyle, such as inactivity and inadequate food intake, can lead to obesity in children and adolescents[7,8] and, alter the mechanism of postural control[8]
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