Children with Poor Motor Skills Have Lower Health-Related Fitness Compared to Typically Developing Children
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Marisja Denysschen1, Dané Coetzee1, Bouwien C M Smits-Engelsman1,2
1Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation (PhASRec), Focus Area, Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
Insights
Children with probable-Developmental Coordination Disorder (p-DCD) in South Africa showed lower muscular strength and aerobic capacity than typically developing peers. This study highlights fitness disparities in low-resource settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Motor Development
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Existing research on fitness and motor performance predominantly features children from high-income nations.
- Children in low-resource settings may face limitations in developing essential fitness skills.
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is associated with motor challenges, impacting daily activities and potentially fitness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate health-related fitness levels in South African children with probable-Developmental Coordination Disorder (p-DCD) compared to typically developing (TD) children.
- To assess differences in aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, strength, and body composition between children with and without p-DCD in low- and middle-income areas.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 146 South African children aged 10–11 years from low- and middle-income schools participated.
- Participants were categorized based on Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) scores (p-DCD vs. TD).
- Health-related fitness was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOT-2) for strength and anaerobic capacity, and the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) for aerobic capacity. Body composition was measured via BMI-z, body fat percentage, and waist circumference.
Main Results:
- Children with p-DCD demonstrated significantly lower levels of running agility, strength, and aerobic capacity compared to TD children (p < 0.05).
- No significant differences were observed in body mass, waist circumference, BMI-z, or body fat percentage between the p-DCD and TD groups.
- Overweight and obesity prevalence was 15% in low socioeconomic status (SES) children and 27% in high SES children.
Conclusions:
- Children with p-DCD in this South African rural cohort exhibit diminished muscular strength and aerobic capacity relative to their TD peers.
- Contrary to some findings in higher-income countries, p-DCD was not associated with increased risk of overweight or obesity in this specific 10–11-year-old population.
- These findings underscore the importance of addressing fitness disparities in children with motor coordination difficulties, particularly in under-resourced environments.
Abstract:
Most of the current empirical evidence regarding the relationship between health-related fitness and level of motor performance is based on children from high-income countries. Yet, children from low-resource areas may have fewer opportunities to develop their fitness skills. The aim of the study was to determine if South African children from both low- and middle-income areas scoring below the 16th percentile on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (probable-Developmental Coordination Disorder (p-DCD)) have lower health-related fitness levels than typically developing (TD) children. We hypothesized that children with p-DCD would have lower overall health-related fitness than TD children. A sample of 146 participants aged 10 to 11 (10.05 years (SD = 0.41)) was collected from schools in the North West Province of South Africa, on the basis of their poverty classification. Children were tested for anaerobic capacity and strength using the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency second edition (BOT-2) and aerobic capacity using the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Body composition was evaluated using body mass index corrected for age and sex (BMI-z), body fat (BF), and waist circumference. The data was analyzed using Spearman correlations and chi-squared tests. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between groups for running and agility, strength, and aerobic capacity. No significant differences were found between p-DCD and TD groups in terms of body mass (36.1 kg vs. 33.3 kg), waist circumference (62.2 cm vs. 59.8 cm), BMI-z (19.7 vs. 17.6), and fat percentage (20.2 vs. 18.1%). Overweight and obesity prevalence was 15% in those with low socio-economic status (SES) and 27% in high SES. In conclusion, children with p-DCD had lower muscular strength, aerobic capacity, and endurance than TD children. Although it has been reported that children with p-DCD have a higher risk for overweight/obesity than TD children, this is not (yet) the case in 10-11-year-old children living in rural areas in South Africa (North West Province).
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