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Does relative body fat influence the Movement ABC-2 assessment in children with and without developmental
Brent E Faught1, Stephen Demetriades, John Hay
1Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Elevated body fat negatively impacts children's performance on balance tests, regardless of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) status. This finding is crucial for accurate motor coordination assessments.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Movement Science
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) involves impaired motor skills, often linked to reduced physical activity and increased body fat.
- The effect of elevated body fat on motor coordination assessments in children with DCD remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if relative body fat influences performance on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (MABC-2) in children with and without DCD.
- To identify specific MABC-2 components affected by body fat levels.
Main Methods:
- A nested case-control design within a longitudinal cohort study.
- Assessed motor coordination using the MABC-2 to classify participants.
- Measured relative body fat via whole body air displacement plethysmography.
Main Results:
- Relative body fat showed a negative association with the MABC-2 "balance" subcategory, even after adjusting for physical activity and DCD status.
- No significant influence of relative body fat was found on "manual dexterity" or "aiming and catching" subcategories.
- Higher relative body fat negatively affected performance on "2-board balance" and "zig-zag hopping" balance tasks.
Conclusions:
- Children with higher relative body fat exhibit poorer performance on the MABC-2, irrespective of DCD diagnosis.
- Dynamic balance tasks are most susceptible to the negative influence of elevated body fat.
- Clinicians and researchers should consider body fat when interpreting MABC-2 results for children.
Abstract:
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a condition that results in an impairment of gross and/or fine motor coordination. Compromised motor coordination contributes to lower levels of physical activity, which is associated with elevated body fat. The impact of elevated body fat on motor coordination diagnostic assessments in children with DCD has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine if relative body fat influences performance on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (MABC-2) test items in children with and without DCD. A nested case-control, design was conducted within the Physical Health Activity Study Team longitudinal cohort study. The MABC-2 was used to assess motor coordination to categorize cases and matched controls. Relative body fat was assessed using whole body air displacement plethysmography. Relative body fat was negatively associated with the MABC-2 "balance" subcategory after adjusting for physical activity and DCD status. Relative body fat did not influence the subcategories of "manual dexterity" or "aiming and catching". Item analysis of the three balance tasks indicated that relative body fat significantly influences both "2-board balance" and "zig-zag hopping", but not "walking heel-toe backwards". Children with higher levels of relative body fat do not perform as well on the MABC-2, regardless of whether the have DCD or not. Dynamic balance test items are most negatively influenced by body fat. Health practitioners and researchers should be aware that body fat can influence results when interpreting MABC-2 test scores.
