Relationship between anthropometry and motor abilities at pre-school age.

Daniela De Toia, Daniel Klein, Sarah Weber, Nicolas Wessely, Benjamin Koch, Walter Tokarski, Sigrid Dordel, Heiko Klaus Strüder, Christine Graf

Publication: Contribution to journalJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

7 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

Objective: Little is known to date about the relationship between poor motor abilities and overweight or obese pre-school children. Thus, this study examined the association between motor abilities and weight status in 1,228 kindergarten children (45.8% female). Method: Anthropometric data were assessed; age 4.7 ± 1.0 years; height 108.6 ± 8.0 cm; weight 19.1 ± 3.6 kg; BMI 16.1 ± 1.5 kg/m2. The modified Karlsruher Motor Ability Screening Test was carried out to determine the motor abilities of speed strength, muscular endurance, coordination, flexibility, and speed. Results: Based on the German BMI reference values, 3.5% of the children were obese, 9.6% overweight, 83.4% normal weight, and 3.5% underweight. During various test tasks, below-average motor abilities were discovered in 44.0–47.3%. In all age groups, overweight and obese children did not differ from their normal and underweight counterparts; except for underweight children which fared worse in flexibility. Conclusion: In contrast to former studies with first graders, overweight or obese pre-school children did not possess worse motor abilities than normal weight children. However, the high number of overweight children and motor deficits suggests that preventive measures should start at this early age.
Original languageEnglish
JournalObesity facts : the European journal of obesity
Volume2
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)221-225
Number of pages5
ISSN1662-4025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009

Citation