Motor Competence and Physical Activity in Early Childhood: Stability and Relationship

Schmutz, Einat A.; Leeger‐Aschmann, Claudia S.; Kakebeeke, Tanja H.; Zysset, Annina; Messerli‐Bürgy, Nadine; Stülb, Kerstin; Arhab, Amar; Meyer, Andrea; Munsch, Simone; Puder, Jardena J.; Jenni, Oskar G.; Kriemler, Susi

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.00039

Cited by 44 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Given the importance of physical fitness and motor competence in the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle (Ortega et al, 2008 ; Mintjens et al, 2018 ; Britton et al, 2020 ), schools and particularly PE should be considered a viable setting for the development of motor competence and physical fitness as most children can be reached independent of their socio-economic background. Even though the benefits of PA on various health-related outcomes have been well-documented (U.S. Department of Health Human Services, 2018 ), simply ensuring high movement time is not sufficient to promote motor competence and physical fitness; rather deliberate practice with quality movement experiences and feedback is required (Robinson and Goodway, 2009 ; Barnett et al, 2016 ; Payne and Isaacs, 2017 ; Schmutz et al, 2020 ). Adequate information on current abilities, therefore, is necessary in order to provide movement experiences that enhance motor competence and physical fitness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Fitness and Motor Competence in Upper Austrian Elementary School Children—Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings of a State-Wide Fitness Testing Program

Drenowatz

Hinterkörner

Greier

2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Motor competence and physical fitness are key components for the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle. Poor motor competence and low physical fitness in children, therefore, are a major threat to future public health. Even though the assessment of physical fitness and motor competence per se does not enhance these entities, fitness tests can provide important information for intervention strategies. Fitness tests may also motivate children to become more active in order to increase their physical abilities. In the school-year 2016/17 the Upper Austrian government initiated the state-wide testing program “wie fit bist du” (how fit are you) in elementary schools, that examined cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular power, speed, agility, flexibility and object control skills along with the assessment of height and weight. Since the beginning of the program more than 18,000 children between 6 and 11 years of age participated in the school-based tests. The results show a significant increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity with increasing age (p > 0.01). Overweight/obese children displayed lower motor competence and physical fitness, except for upper body strength. Further, the improvement in test performance with increasing age was less pronounced in overweight/obese children compared to their normal weight peers. In fact, distance covered during the 6-min run did not improve throughout the elementary school years in overweight/obese children. Given the importance of motor competence and physical fitness for general development and well-being, physical education should be considered a viable setting for the promotion of these entities as a majority of children can be reached independent of their socio-economic background. In order to provide adequate movement experiences that enhance motor competence and physical fitness while ensuring a motivating environment, objective information on current ability levels are required. The implementation of fitness monitoring at young ages, therefore, can be an important contributor for the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Fitness and Motor Competence in Upper Austrian Elementary School Children—Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings of a State-Wide Fitness Testing Program

Drenowatz

Hinterkörner

Greier

2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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“…Third, future research among preschoolers should examine associations among demographic, environmental, and sociocultural factors related to motor competence and physical activity longitudinally. Research can also examine underlying reasons for differences in motor competencies such as the type of sport or activity participation or physical education curricula, as well as examine what type of physical activity is important for motor development [ 46 ]. There have been at least two reviews of interventions to promote physical activity among preschoolers, which is particularly relevant with increases in preschool enrollment [ 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor Competence and Attainment of Global Physical Activity Guidelines among a Statewide Sample of Preschoolers

Slaton

Kowalski

Zemanick

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Global physical activity guidelines for preschoolers include 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. This study, based on the developmental model of motor skill competence, examines how motor competence relates to preschoolers’ likelihood of meeting global guidelines using ankle accelerometry. We measured physical activity using 24-h ankle-placement accelerometry (Actical) for at least two consecutive days (87% with six-seven days), motor competence using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2), and BMI-for-age z-scores (BMIz) using anthropometry and age- and sex-specific CDC norms. Caregivers provided demographic characteristics of children’s age, sex, and race. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine how motor competence, BMIz weight status, and demographic characteristics related to meeting global physical activity guidelines. The sample included 588 preschoolers, age 3–5 years; 55% male; 60% white; and 28% overweight/obese; 75% attained the recommended 60 min of MVPA per day. The odds of meeting MVPA guidelines were associated with higher gross motor quotient, higher object control scores, sex (male), age (older), and race (white), but not with BMIz weight status. Findings support the use of 24-h ankle accelerometry among preschoolers and are consistent with the developmental model of motor competence applied to preschoolers, whereby object control competence relates positively to attaining global physical activity guidelines.

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“…Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese or overweight in 2016 (World Health Organization, 2016). Research on the underlying motivational processes that account for varying levels of younger children's physical activity is thus of considerable importance for health enhancement and the promotion of children's physical performance, especially in early childhood when children's physical abilities increasingly develop (Lakes et al, 2020;Schmutz et al, 2020). For this reason, the present study aimed to examine the possible determinants of younger children's physical performance at the early start of their development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's Physical Self-Concept, Motivation, and Physical Performance: Does Physical Self-Concept or Motivation Play a Mediating Role?

et al. 2021

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The present study aimed to examine the relations between physical self-concept, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as physical performance of 1,082 children aged 7–8 years. The central objective of this study was to contrast a mediation model assuming physical self-concept as a mediator of the relations between both types of motivation and physical performance to a mediation model assuming both types of motivation as mediators of the relations between physical self-concept and physical performance. Physical self-concept and both types of motivation were measured by using self-reported questionnaires, while physical performance was measured with 10 motor skill tests. All tests were carried out during regular school hours (8–12 A.M.) by qualified test personnel. Beyond correlation analyses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to find evidence for the predictive relations between the variables under study. Results showed that physical self-concept was significantly positively related to both types of motivation and physical performance (all p < 0.001). In contrast, results of SEM revealed that only physical self-concept (p < 0.001) and intrinsic motivation (p < 0.05) were significantly positively linked to physical performance. Furthermore, physical self-concept proved to significantly mediate the relations of both types of motivation to physical performance (p < 0.001), while only intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, proved to significantly mediate the relation between physical self-concept and physical performance (p < 0.05). These results suggest that school-based or extracurricular interventions targeted at improving younger children's physical performance only by means of an increased level of physical activity or by external factors without supporting children's physical self-concept and intrinsic motivation may have less or no effects on their physical performance.

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Motor Competence and Physical Activity in Early Childhood: Stability and Relationship

Cited by 44 publications

References 42 publications

Physical Fitness and Motor Competence in Upper Austrian Elementary School Children—Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings of a State-Wide Fitness Testing Program

Physical Fitness and Motor Competence in Upper Austrian Elementary School Children—Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings of a State-Wide Fitness Testing Program

Motor Competence and Attainment of Global Physical Activity Guidelines among a Statewide Sample of Preschoolers

Children's Physical Self-Concept, Motivation, and Physical Performance: Does Physical Self-Concept or Motivation Play a Mediating Role?

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