Motor behavior according to Body Mass Index in boys and girls aged 6 to 10 years from Viña del Mar, Chile

Abstract
The objective of the study was to compare and relate motor behavior in relation to body mass index (BMI) and sex in children aged 6 to 10 years in Viña del Mar, Chile. 221 students participated (girls, n=102; boys, n=119) with an average age of 7.55 ± 1.31 years. Motor behavior was determined and classified with the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on the ratio between weight and height (expressed in W/H2). The nutritional status was determined using the indicators of the Ministry of Health of Chile, which are based on international standards for nutritional evaluation of children and adolescents from 5 to 19 years of age. For result analyses, the sample was divided into two groups (low-normal-weight and overweight-obese) with a confidence interval of 95% (p < 0.05) for comparison between the groups. It was shown that low and normal body mass index boys had better locomotion (p = 0.026) and object control (p = 0.045) in relation to overweight and obese boys. The female sex presented no differences between groups. Amongst boys, BMI is negatively related to motor quotient (p = 0.001), while in girls, no relationship was observed. In terms of gross motor development, low-weight and normal-weight boys are more likely to have a better gross motor development than overweight and obese boys, though not the case in girls. It is concluded that overweight and obese boys have a lower motor skill than normal and low boys.
Description
Keywords
Motor skill, Nutritional status, Students
Citation