Functional Movement Is Negatively Associated with Weight Status and Positively Associated with Physical Activity in British Primary School Children

Abstract

Although prior studies have suggested that overweight and obesity in childhood are associated with poorer functional movement performance, no study appears to have examined this issue in a pediatric population. The relations between BMI, ambulatory physical activity and functional movement screen (FMS) performance were compared in 58, 10-11-year-old children. Total FMS score was significantly, negatively correlated with BMI (P = .0001) and positively related to PA (P = .029). Normal weight children scored significantly better for total FMS score compared to children classified as overweight/obese (P = .0001). Mean ± S.D. of FMS scores were 15.5 ± 2.2 and 10.6 ± 2.1 in normal weight and overweight/obese children, respectively. BMI and PA were also significant predictors of functional movement (P = .0001, Adjusted R2 = .602) with BMI and PA predicting 52.9% and 7.3% of the variance in total FMS score, respectively. The results of this study highlight that ambulatory physical activity and weight status are significant predictors of functional movement in British children. Scientists and practitioners therefore need to consider interventions which develop functional movement skills alongside physical activity and weight management strategies in children in order to reduce the risks of orthopaedic abnormality arising from suboptimal movement patterns in later life.

The Association between Anthropometric Variables, Functional Movement Screen Scores and 100 m Freestyle Swimming Performance in Youth Swimmers

“…Conversely, data presented by Parchman and McBride [14] reported no significant association between FMS scores, golf club head speed, and various fitness tests in 25 adult golfers. Other research with a non-athletic child population has also reported that FMS scores were significantly related to body mass index [15], with higher BMI being associated with poorer FMS performance. Despite this data, few studies have examined how these functional movement patterns develop in adolescents generally and no studies to date have examined if and how FMS performance might be associated with anthropometric factors and performance in adolescent athletes.…”

Obese Versus Normal-Weight Late-Adolescent Females have Inferior Trabecular Bone Microarchitecture: A Pilot Case-Control Study

“…This may help explain, at least in part, the greater risk for skeletal fracture in obese children and adolescents [4, 5]. Whereas this elevated fracture risk may also be attributed to deficits in physical function and greater subsequent risk for falling [6], in vitro mechanisms implicating adipose tissue as a negative determinant of adolescent bone structure and strength have been shown in vivo [7–9]. …”

The association between functional movement and overweight and obesity in British primary school children

“…A number of studies have documented influences such as sedentary behaviour and nutritional habits on weight status but few have examined the structural and functional limitations of excess weight [3,4]. These studies have predominantly been in adult samples and few data have been reported for pediatric populations [3,5].…”

“…A number of studies have documented influences such as sedentary behaviour and nutritional habits on weight status but few have examined the structural and functional limitations of excess weight [3,4]. These studies have predominantly been in adult samples and few data have been reported for pediatric populations [3,5]. This is somewhat surprising as children display alterations to their functional movement as a consequence of excessive weight [5] which can impede daily physical activity level and limit functional performance [5,6].…”

“…Other work [3] has more specifically examined the association between Body Mass Index (BMI), physical activity and functional movement by employing the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) in a sample of 58 children. The authors reported that poorer functional movement was associated with higher BMI and lower levels of physical activity.…”