Abstract
This study examined motor competence (MC) behavior in 6- to 14-year-old children, and investigated the differences in health-related fitness (HRF) between high and low MC groups, according to sex and age. A sample of 564 children (288 males) participated in this study, divided into three age groups (6–8 years; 9–11 years; 12–14 years). Total MC and its three components (stability, locomotor, and manipulative) were assessed with a quantitative instrument. HRF was evaluated using a maximal multistage 20-m shuttle-run test and the handgrip test. Participants were divided into tertiles according to their MC level and high and low MC groups were analyzed. Overall, MC increased across age groups for both sexes, but boys presented better results than girls. The high MC group outperformed their low MC peers in all HRF variables, independent of their age group. Although cardiovascular fitness increased with age for both the high and low MC groups, the differences between these groups were greater in older children compared to younger children, within the study age range. The findings suggest that MC interventions should be considered as an important strategy to enhance HRF, and girls at a young age should be a priority target.
Highlights
We have investigated the effect of motor competence (MC) on the health-related fitness (HRF) of children divided into three age
We have investigated the effect of MC on the HRF of children divided into three groups (6–8 years; 9–11 years; 12–14 years)
Global results revealed that boys always outperformed age groups (6–8 years; 9–11 years; 12–14 years)
Summary
The overall prevalence of childhood obesity is high [1], and children tend to spend less time and engage less in physical activity (PA) [2] while spending more time on sedentary activities [3].A theoretical model proposed by Stodden and colleagues (2008) [4] allocates a key role to motor competence (MC) for developing an active and healthy lifestyle, and very recently, several studies provided support for this hypothetical model regarding the effects of MC on the positive developmental trajectories of health [5,6].MC is used as a global term that includes a wide variety of terms used in literature (i.e., fundamental motor skill or movement, motor proficiency or performance, motor ability and motor coordination), and can be advantageously described as a person’s ability to be proficient in a wide range of motor acts or skills [7] that include locomotor, stability or manipulative movements [1,9].The strength of the relationship between MC and health-related fitness (HRF), and MC and weight status, is high and increases with time [6]. Sports 2017, 5, 41 recent years [10,11,12,13] with approximately 5–8% of school aged children exhibiting motor problems often mentioned as having developmental coordination disorder (DCD) [14,15,16]. This disorder is characterized by poor MC—substantially below that expected for a child’s chronological age and measured intelligence [17]. Body mass index is usually positively related to cardiorespiratory fitness [20] and MC [21], while negatively related to strength [22]
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