Are there gross motor coordination spurts during mid‐childhood?

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of this study were (1) to identify the timing of the midgrowth spurt (MGS) in stature in children and (2) to identify gross motor coordination (GMC) spurts when aligned by the age of attainment of the MGS (aMGS). Methods: Stature, weight, and GMC were measured in 245 Portuguese children followed annually from 6 to 10 years. GMC was assessed and to estimate children's MGS in stature as well as GMC spurts in each of the four tests aligned by aMGS, we used a nonsmoothed polynomial methodology. Results: In boys, the aMGS was attained at 7.8 years, whereas in girls it was 8.0 years.In boys, the peak MGS was 6.2 cmÁyr −1 and in girls it was 6.4 cmÁyr −1 . In boys, the peak for walking backwards (WB) occurred 18 months before aMGS (14.9-pointsÁyr −1 ), jumping sideways (JS) was 12 months after aMGS (13.5-pointsÁyr −1 ), hopping on one leg (HO) was 18 months before aMGS (11.7-pointsÁyr −1 ), and shifting platform (SP) was 12 months before aMGS (6.8-pointsÁyr −1 ). In girls, WB spurts occurred 12 months after aMGS (13.3-pointsÁyr −1 ), JS was 12 months before aMGS (10.5-pointsÁyr −1 ), HO was coincident with aMGS (10.4-pointsÁyr −1 ), and SP was 18 as well as 12 months before aMGS (7.2-pointsÁyr −1 ). No differences were observed in the mean peak spurts between sexes in the GMC tests. Conclusions: Boys and girls reached their MGS in stature at about the same chronological age. Spurts in GMC did not express themselves in the same biological timing relative to aMGS in stature, and there are sex differences.

Is motor competence associated with the risk of central obesity in preschoolers?

“…In contrast to the study by Lopes et al (), which suggests alterations in the association between adiposity indicators and motor coordination according to sex in young children from 9 to 12 years old, the present study shows that the associations found are independent of the child's sex. According to Malina, Bouchard, and Bar‐Or () are not expected morphology differences between boys and girls in preschool age, as well as gains in stature are similar throughout early childhood (Santos et al, ). However, the age group investigated by Lopes et al () may be involved in changes from biological maturation, which was not controlled in the study.…”

Patterns of physical performance spurts during adolescence: a cross-cultural study of Canadian, Brazilian and Portuguese boys

“…Subsequently, this methodology was used by Yag€ ue and De La Fuente (1998) in Spanish boys and girls, and by Philippaerts et al (2006) in Belgian male soccer players. A more general approach of this methodology was developed and previously used by Dos Santos et al (2019) in Portuguese boys and girls, as well as by Silva et al (2019) in Brazilian boys and girls.…”

Physical fitness spurts in childhood: A study in boys

“…This generalization was successfully applied to identify spurts in children's gross motor coordination. 20 Graph pad Prism v8 software was used to produce all figures.…”

“…A generalization of the methodology was developed by a University of Porto mathematician, who also developed the software to conduct all analyses. This generalization was successfully applied to identify spurts in children's gross motor coordination 20 . Graph pad Prism v8 software was used to produce all figures.…”

“…In a recent report, 20 we investigated how different markers of children's gross motor coordination unfolded when children were aligned by age‐at‐MGS and found not only were there sex differences but also these markers had their own timing in terms of peak spurts. More specifically, we reported that in boys, spurts in walking backward and hopping on one leg were occurring 18 months before the MGS.…”