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Relationship between fundamental motor skills and physical activity in 4-year-old preschool children

K S Iivonen, A K Sääkslahti, A Mehtälä

    Perceptual and Motor Skills
    |March 12, 2014
    PubMed

    Insights

    Physical activity in preschoolers is linked to their motor skills. Specific skills like sliding, galloping, and throwing/catching correlate with different activity levels, highlighting key areas for development.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Exercise Science
    • Motor Development

    Background:

    • Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are crucial for children's physical development.
    • Understanding the link between physical activity (PA) and FMS in early childhood is important for promoting healthy lifestyles.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the association between objectively measured physical activity and fundamental motor skills in 4-year-old children.
    • To identify specific motor skills related to different intensities of physical activity.

    Main Methods:

    • Objectively measured physical activity over 5 days in 37 children (20 girls, 17 boys).
    • Assessed fundamental motor skills.
    • Used multiple linear regressions controlling for sex, age, and BMI.

    Main Results:

    • Total FMS score significantly associated with overall physical activity.
    • Specific skills like sliding, galloping, and throwing/catching showed significant associations with moderate-to-vigorous and light-to-vigorous physical activity.
    • FMS explained 13-16% of the variance in physical activity levels.

    Conclusions:

    • Fundamental motor skills are related to physical activity levels in preschoolers.
    • Targeting specific skills may enhance physical activity engagement.
    • Further research with larger samples is needed to explore locomotor and manipulative skills in relation to PA behaviors.

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