Skeletal maturation, fundamental motor skills, and motor performance in preschool children

Abstract

Relationships among skeletal age (SA), body size and fundamental motor skills (FMS) and motor performance were considered in 155 boys and 159 girls 3-6 years of age. Stature and body mass were measured. SA of the hand-wrist was assessed with the Tanner-Whitehouse II 20 bone method. The Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd edition (TGMD-2), and the Preschool Test Battery were used, respectively, to assess FMS and motor performance. Based on hierarchical regression analyses, the standardized residuals of SA on chronological age (SAsr) explained a maximum of 6.1% of the variance in FMS and motor performance in boys (ΔR , range 0.0%-6.1%) and a maximum of 20.4% of the variance in girls (ΔR , range 0.0%-20.4%) over that explained by body size and interactions of SAsr with body size (step 3). The interactions of the SAsr and stature and body mass (step 2) explained a maximum of 28.3% of the variance in boys (ΔR , range 0.5%-28.3%) and 16.7% of the variance in girls (ΔR , range 0.7%-16.7%) over that explained by body size alone. With the exception of balance, relationships among SAsr and FMS or motor performance differed between boys and girls. Overall, SA per se or interacting with body size had a relatively small influence in FMS and motor performance in children 3-6 years of age.

Motor competence and health-related fitness in children: A cross-cultural comparison between Portugal and the United States

“…Biological maturation influences all aspects of growth and development and may have influenced our results. Skeletal maturation is associated with higher scores during motor performance tests (e.g., balance, SLJ, shuttle run, kicking, and overhand throw) among children ages 3–6, 36 7–10, 37 and 11–14years old 38 . A final limitation relates to the limited generalizability of the results, which is based on specific samples from only 3 different regions in the United States and only 1 region of Portugal.…”

Physical Activity Practice and Optimal Development of Postural Control in School Children: Are They Related?

“…However, this finding may be due to the fact that the girls studied were in more advanced stages of maturational development. Prior studies have linked motor development in childhood to the growth of the central nervous system [ 42 , 43 ] and have assumed that age and sex relationships among biological maturation and fundamental motor skills (such as postural control) may be associated with changes in brain structure and underlying function neuromuscular maturation [ 44 ]. In parallel, Freitas et al [ 42 ] indicate that taking into account the sex differences in biological maturation, skeletal maturation may be more closely related to neuromuscular maturation in girls than in boys at these young ages.…”

Balance Tests in Pre-Adolescent Children: Retest Reliability, Construct Validity, and Relative Ability

“…At the same time, physical fitness (PF), and consequently, fundamental movement skills (FMS) are indispensable part of PA [ 7 ]. The development of FMS and subsequent changes in movement proficiency occur in early and middle childhood [ 8 ] and are considered to be building blocks that lead to specialised movement sequences required for the adequate participation in various physical activities [ 9 , 10 ]. FMS include locomotor, manipulative or object control, and stability skills [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]; thus, balance is also an FMS.…”