Association between Body Composition and Motor Performance in Preschool Children
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Tanja H Kakebeeke1, Stefano Lanzi, Annina E Zysset
1Child Development Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Insights
Higher body fat in preschoolers may hinder gross motor skills like jumping. However, body mass index (BMI) may indicate muscle mass, positively impacting running performance in this age group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Motor Development
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent in childhood.
- Physical activity and motor skills are crucial for healthy development.
- Understanding the relationship between body composition and motor performance in early childhood is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between body composition and motor performance in preschool children.
- To determine if measures like skinfold thickness, waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI) correlate with gross and fine motor skills.
- To explore potential implications for children's physical health and development.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 476 preschool children (mean age 3.9 years) from the Swiss Preschoolers' Health Study (SPLASHY) participated.
- Body composition was assessed using skinfold thickness, WC, and BMI.
- Gross and fine motor skills were evaluated using the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (ZNA).
Main Results:
- Increased skinfold thickness and WC were inversely associated with sideward jumping performance (gross motor skill).
- Higher BMI was positively correlated with running performance (gross motor skill).
- No significant associations were found between body composition measures and fine motor tasks.
Conclusions:
- Higher adiposity (indicated by skinfold thickness and WC) may negatively impact certain gross motor skills in preschoolers.
- BMI may serve as an indicator of favorable fat-free mass, positively influencing running in this predominantly normal-weight cohort.
- These findings highlight the nuanced relationship between body composition and motor development in early childhood.
Objective:
Being overweight makes physical movement more difficult. Our aim was to investigate the association between body composition and motor performance in preschool children.
Methods:
A total of 476 predominantly normal-weight preschool children (age 3.9 ± 0.7 years; m/f: 251/225; BMI 16.0 ± 1.4 kg/m2) participated in the Swiss Preschoolers' Health Study (SPLASHY). Body composition assessments included skinfold thickness, waist circumference (WC), and BMI. The Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (ZNA) was used to assess gross and fine motor tasks.
Results:
After adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic status, sociocultural characteristics, and physical activity (assessed with accelerometers), skinfold thickness and WC were both inversely correlated with jumping sideward (gross motor task β-coefficient -1.92, p = 0.027; and -3.34, p = 0.014, respectively), while BMI was positively correlated with running performance (gross motor task β-coefficient 9.12, p = 0.001). No significant associations were found between body composition measures and fine motor tasks.
Conclusion:
The inverse associations between skinfold thickness or WC and jumping sideward indicates that children with high fat mass may be less proficient in certain gross motor tasks. The positive association between BMI and running suggests that BMI might be an indicator of fat-free (i.e., muscle) mass in predominately normal-weight preschool children.