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Assessment of the Relationship between Body Mass Index and Gross Motor Development in Children
Sepideh Amouian1,2, Zahra Abbasi Shaye3, Sakineh Mohammadian1
1Neonatal and Children's Health Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Insights
Childhood obesity negatively impacts gross motor development. This study found that overweight and obese children exhibited lower developmental levels compared to normal-weight peers, highlighting a significant public health concern.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant global health issue.
- Gross motor development is crucial for a child's overall well-being and participation in physical activities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) categories and gross motor development in young children.
- To assess how lean, normal weight, and overweight/obese children differ in their gross motor skills.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 90 children aged 3-5 years.
- Children were categorized into lean, normal weight, and overweight/obese groups.
- Gross motor development was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) and the Denver II scale.
Main Results:
- Overall, 10% of children showed developmental delay, and 16.7% were in the caution category.
- Overweight and obese children demonstrated significantly lower gross motor development scores compared to normal-weight children, based on both ASQ and Denver II assessments.
- No significant differences in gross motor development were observed between underweight and normal weight groups, or between obese and underweight groups.
Conclusions:
- Childhood overweight and obesity are associated with impaired gross motor development.
- These findings underscore the importance of addressing pediatric obesity to support healthy child development.
Objective:
Obesity is a growing epidemic and public health problem in children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the gross motor development.
Materials & Methods:
In this cross-sectional study conducted in 2012-13 in Gorgan, northern Iran, the gross motor development of 90 children 3-5 yr old in three groups of lean, normal and obese/overweight were evaluated by the ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ) and Denver 2 scale.
Results:
Totally, 90 children were enrolled and their developmental level was assessed with two ASQ and Denver II indices. The mean and standard deviation of the ASQ scores of the children was 53.11± 11.06 and based on Denver index, 9 children (10%) were at developmental delay status, 15 (16.7%) in the caution conditions, and 53 (58.9%) at normal developmental status. The developmental level was lower in obese/overweight group comparing with other groups according to both Denver and ASQ and there was a significant difference between obese/overweight group and normal group based in Denver and ASQ, respectively. There was no significant difference between underweight and normal and obese and underweight groups.
Conclusion:
Overweight and obesity could affect on the gross motor development.
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