Tracking of gross motor coordination in Portuguese children |
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| Authors: | Rafael S Henrique Alcibíades V Bustamante Duarte L Freitas Go Tani Peter T Katzmarzyk José A Maia |
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| Institution: | 1. Higher School of Physical Education, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazilrdshenrique@hotmail.com;3. Academic Department of Applied Sciences for Physical Education and Sport, National University of Education Enrique Guzmán y Valle, Lima, Peru;4. Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal;5. School of Physical Education and Sport, University of S?o Paulo, S?o Paulo, Brazil;6. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA;7. CIFID, Faculty of Sport, Kinanthropometry Lab, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to investigate the tracking of gross motor coordination (GMC) and to profile children at 6 years of age who consistently showed higher stability patterns in different levels of GMC. The participants were 245 children (123 boys and 122 girls) who were assessed longitudinally from 6 to 9 years of age. GMC was assessed using the Korperkoordinationtest fur Kinder (KTK) test battery. Anthropometry, physical activity, and health- and performance-related physical fitness were also measured. Cohen’s kappa (κ) was used to estimate tracking. Tracking was poor for all GMC tests (0.17 ≤ κ ≤ 0.38) and moderate for the GMC motor quotient (MQ) in both boys and girls (0.44 ≤ κ ≤ 0.45). Instability at the extremes was low in GMC tests and negligible for MQ. Children who consistently showed high GMC levels during the 4 years of follow-up were lighter, had lower body mass index and subcutaneous fat, and showed higher scores in physical fitness tests at 6 years of age than those who consistently had low GMC levels. In conclusion, GMC showed low-to-moderate tracking over time in childhood. However, children who consistently demonstrated high GMC levels over time had healthier profiles at 6 years of age. |
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| Keywords: | Tracking gross motor coordination longitudinal studies children |
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