Developmental coordination disorder and overweight and obesity in children aged 9–14 y

Abstract

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a significant problem that affects between 5 and 9% of all children. Since children with DCD are less likely than their non-DCD peers to participate in physical activities, they may be at greater risk for overweight and obesity. In this report, we examine the relationship between DCD and overweight and obesity in a sample of 578 children aged 9-14 y. We also examine whether the relationship between DCD and overweight/obesity is the same for boys and girls, taking into account sex and age-appropriate differences in percentage body fat and body mass index (BMI) criteria. Our results show that for boys, DCD may be a risk factor for overweight/obesity in childhood and early adolescence. For girls, there is no difference in the prevalence of overweight/obesity between children with and without the disorder.

Motor coordination problems in children and adolescents with ADHD rated by parents and teachers: effects of age and gender

“…Poor motor performance is highly related to low self-esteem, to higher levels of anxiety and to poor social functioning (Skinner and Piek 2001;Cummins et al 2005). Also, recent findings describe a higher risk of obesity and vascular disease in adolescents with DCD (Cairney et al 2005). This risk is attributable to their physically less active life style.…”

Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children: a population-based study

“…In the present study, obesity was associated with impairment in motor skills only in male children. Cairney and co-workers 21 similarly found a significant association between obesity and impairment in developmental coordination for boys, but not girls, in a sample of elementary school children (ages 9-14 years). Findings from both studies may reflect greater societal pressure for participation in physical activities and/or athletic prowess in boys.…”

Aptidão física em crianças com provável transtorno do desenvolvimento da coordenação e índice de massa corporal normal

“…It is recommended that studies involving comparisons between DCD and TD groups match children by age, gender and BMI (specifically, children who are overweight). In previous studies, children with DCD have consistently shown an elevated BMI compared with their TD peers 15,16,30 . It is possible that the presence of children who are overweight or obese may enhance or diminish the differences between the groups, depending on the presence of these children in one or both groups.…”

“…Silman et al 20 , for example, measured the levels of activity of children with DCD with an accelerometer for seven days and found that these children were less active compared with their TD counterparts. Overweight/obesity and elevated body fat are also variables that mediate the differences in cardiorespiratory fitness between the groups 15 . Evidence from field-based protocols of poor cardiorespiratory fitness in children with DCD has recently gained support from the results of laboratory-based protocols.…”

“…The reduced performance in physical fitness components observed in children with DCD is frequently associated with various factors. According to previous studies, these factors include a lack of engagement in physical activity 12 , inaccurate perception of their competence to perform physical activities 13,14 , and high levels of body mass index (BMI) 15,16 . Although the relationship between physical activity, BMI, and physical fitness is relatively well established in the literature for the general population 17 , such a relationship is not yet well understood in children with DCD.…”