Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate if children at the age of 11 with total scores at or above 13.5 (lower motor competence) on Motor assessment Battery for Children (MABC) differ from children scoring below 13.5 (higher motor competence) in physical fitness, self-perception and physical activity. A total of 67 children completed the Test of Physical Fitness and Harter‟s Self-perception Profile for Children, and two questions concerning physical activity. Children with lower motor competence performed poorer on all fitness tasks, were less physically active and had lower perception of athletic competence and social acceptance, than the group with higher motor competence. These findings indicate that lower levels of motor competence may impact several health related variables in children. In this respect the importance of experience with the tasks measured are discussed. Additionally, the benefits of a mastery-oriented climate to promote physical activity in school, especially for children with lower motor competence, are emphasized.
Highlights
Skilled movement is described as a fundamental component of human life, and a person‟s level of performance in different motor acts, including coordination of both fine and gross motor skills is defined as motor competence (Henderson & Sugden, 1992)
This indicates that children categorized with lower motor competence (LMC) performed poorer on all tasks of physical fitness than the higher motor competence (HMC)-group
According to days and hours of hard physical activity, results show a higher self-reported participation in physical activity in children in the HMC-group compared to the LMC-group
Summary
Skilled movement is described as a fundamental component of human life, and a person‟s level of performance in different motor acts, including coordination of both fine and gross motor skills is defined as motor competence (Henderson & Sugden, 1992). Level of motor competence is found to be related to physical fitness (Haga, 2008a; Hands, 2008) and self-perception (Barnett, Morgan, van Beurden, & Beard, 2008; VedulKjelsås, Sigmundsson, Stensdotter, & Haga, 2012). Motor competence might be seen as a determinant of participation in and level of physical activity (Wrotniak, Epstein, Dorn, Jones, & Kondilis, 2006). It is emphasized that children with low motor competence are less physically active than children with higher motor competence (Barnett et al, 2008; Barnett, van Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, & Beard, 2009; Cantell, Crawford, & Tish Doyle-Baker, 2008; Williams et al, 2008; Wrotniak et al, 2006). Evidence of positive health effects from participation in physical activity is considerable, for example maintenance of a healthy weight, increased bone mass, prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and EUJAPA, Vol 8, No 1
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