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Motor Development and Physical Activity: A Longitudinal Discordant Twin-Pair Study.
Sari Aaltonen1, Antti Latvala, Richard J Rose
11Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FINLAND, 2Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FINLAND; 3Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; 4Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, FINLAND, 5Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, FINLAND, 6Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FINLAND; and 7Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, FINLAND.
Children with better motor skills tend to be more physically active as adults. This association between childhood motor development and adult physical activity persists even when accounting for shared family influences.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Genetics
- Public Health
Background:
- Longitudinal studies indicate early motor proficiency predicts adult physical activity.
- Familial factors (genetic, environmental) may explain this association.
- Previous research lacked control for confounding family background in long-term follow-up.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the association between childhood motor skill development and adult leisure-time physical activity.
- Determine if this association is independent of family background using a twin study design.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 1550 (FinnTwin12) and 1752 (FinnTwin16) twin pairs.
- Parental reports assessed childhood motor skill development.
- Self-reported leisure-time physical activity (MET·h·d) in young adulthood and adulthood.
- Conditional and ordinary linear regression models within twin pairs.
Main Results:
- Childhood motor development predicted young adult physical activity within twin pairs (P < 0.001).
- Early standing unaided predicted higher leisure-time MET values in young adulthood (P < 0.001).
- Childhood agility predicted higher leisure-time MET values into adulthood (P = 0.03).
Conclusions:
- Advanced childhood motor development is linked to higher adult leisure-time physical activity.
- This association is at least partly independent of family background.
- Findings apply to both men and women.
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