No abstract

Fundamental motor skills are the basis for participation in more advanced lifetime activities. Whereas considerable research has been reported on motor behavior of children, much less is known about performance in later years, especially adulthood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine age and gender differences on fundamental motor skills (FMS) ability across three age groups: children (M = 9.37 yr., SD = 1.26), adolescents (M = 14.80 yr., SD = 2.04) and young-adults (M = 19.88 yr., SD = 2.72). Participants (n = 114) were assessed on five locomotor skills (run, gallop, slide, hop, and distance jump) and five object control skills (bounce, catch, overhand throw, strike and kick) using the Test for Fundamental Motor Skills, which is a process-oriented instrument. ANOVA results comparing gender and group revealed no significant interactions. Moreover, main effects for group were found for three individual skills: galloping –adolescents and young-adults performed better than children (p < .01)–, throwing –children and adolescents performed better than young-adults (p < .01) –, and kicking –young-adults performed better than children and adolescents (p < .05)–. Also, we found main effects for gender for total FMS ability (p < .01), locomotor subscale (p < .05) and object control subscale (p < .01), and for six individual motor skills: run (p < .05), jump (p < .05), throw (p < .01), kick (p < .01), bounce (p < .01) and strike (p < .01); males outperformed females for all the skills. However, in view of total FMS ability, locomotor skills and object control skills results suggest similar performance across ages. Therefore, it is important to enhance fundamental motor skills at all ages, as an option to help individuals engage in physical activities.

The effect of footwear on locomotor skill performance was examined. 12 children (4 boys, 8 girls; M age = 56.3 mo., SD = 3.3) served as participants. Participants were randomly assigned to perform the locomotor subscale of Ulrich's Test of Gross Motor Development in two shoe conditions (Condition 1: Stride Rite athletic shoes, and Condition 2: flip flop sandals). Children scored significantly higher when wearing athletic shoes than flip-flop sandals. This finding is relevant for motor performance and safety in physical education and movement programs.

Creative Commons Attibution-NonComercial-NoDerivs 3.0 . Para más información visite www. Resumen El propósito de esta investigación fue determinar la relación entre factores motivacionales para la práctica de la natación, según sexo y edad en las personas participantes en un proyecto de natación. En el estudio participaron 107 sujetos (71%) del total de la población activa del proyecto, de los cuales 51 fueron hombres y 56 mujeres, con edades comprendidas entre los 18 y 63 años, (36,27±10,67). La muestra fue distribuida en cuatro categorías de edad (18 a 29 años; 30 a 39 años; 40 a 49 años y 50 años en adelante) y por sexo. Para conocer los motivos que inducen a las personas a realizar ejercicio físico, se aplicó el cuestionario Autoinforme de Motivos para la Práctica de Ejercicios Físicos (AMPEF), adaptado por Capdevilla Niñerola y Pintanel (2004). Los resultados del análisis individual demostraron que los factores: salud y prevención positiva; bienestar y diversión; fuerza y resistencia muscular, son motivos importantes tanto en hombres como mujeres en todas las categorías por edad, con valores ≥ 7 (en una escala Likert de 1 a 10). No se encontró diferencias significativas en el puntaje total entre variables. Los datos registrados son consistentes con lo reportado en la literatura científica. Se concluye que los principales motivos de las personas para realizar actividad física son: salud, diversión, bienestar y mejoría de aspectos físicos, asimismo se encontró que existen diferencias significativas en los motivos relacionados con el desafío y la competencia, entre hombres y mujeres, resultados que también con coinciden con publicaciones previas. Palabras Claves: motivación, salud, natación, actividad física AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between motivational factors, sex and age on the participants at a project of swimming. The study included 107 subjects (71%) of the total of active participants in the project, of which 51 were men and 56 women, aged between 18 and 63 years (36,27 ± 10,67). The sample was divided into four age categories (18-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years and 50 and over) and by sex. To know the reasons that lead people to engage physical exercise, self-report questionnaire Motives for the Practice of Physical Exercises (AMPEF), adapted by and Pintanel Niñerola Capdevila (2004) was applied. The results of the individual analysis showed that the factors: positive health and prevention; well-being and fun; muscular strength and endurance are important reasons for both men and women in all age categories, with values ≥ 7 (between 1 to 10). There were no significant differences in the total score between variables. The data reported are consistent with those reported in the literature. It is concluded that the main reasons for people to be physically active are: health, fun, wellbeing and improvement of physical, also found significant differences in the reasons relating to the challenge and competition between men and women, results also agree with previ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in physical activity levels (pedometer step count) over a seven day period between normal weight and overweight/obese fifth grade Costa Rican boys and girls. Children's (n = 188) weight and height were measured. Each child wore an Omron HJ-720 ITC pedometer for one week to assess step count. Participants were placed into one of two groups (Obese/Overweight or Normal weight) based on BMI. A 2 (Sex) x 2 (BMI Groups) x 2 (Week/Weekend) mixed model ANOVA revealed no interactions among variables. However, there were statistically significant differences for the within-subjects effect, with average step counts for weekdays and weekend days, F = 19.421, p < .001, and statistically significant between-subjects effects for step counts and BMI groups, F = 4.09, p = .044, and Sex, F = 6.80, p = .010. All children engaged in more daily steps during the weekdays than the weekend days. Daily step counts for children in the Obese/Overweight BMI group were lower than children in the Normal BMI group. Boys engaged in more daily steps than girls all days of the week. Interventions to provide weekend physical activity should be promoted based on these findings, particularly for girls and children with high BMIs.