Morano Milena, Colella Dario, Caroli Margherita
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
Int J Pediatr Obes. 2011 Oct;6 Suppl 2:42-6. doi: 10.3109/17477166.2011.613665.
The aim of the study was to examine the gross motor skill performance of overweight and non-overweight preschool children from South of Italy, and to investigate possible differences by gender.
Participants were 38 boys and 42 girls (4.5 ± 0.5 yr) categorized as overweight (n = 38) and non-overweight (n = 42), according to the IOTF body mass index (BMI) cut-off points. The Test of Gross Motor Development was used to assess seven locomotor skills (run, gallop, hop, leap, horizontal jump, skip and slide) and five object-control skills (two-hand strike, stationary bounce, catch, kick and overhand throw). The raw, standard and percentile scores and the Gross Motor Development Quotient (GMDQ) were calculated for each participant. ANOVA 2 (gender) x 2 (group) was conducted on the subtest standard scores and the GMDQ.
No differences in performance were found between boys and girls on the subscale standard scores and the GMDQ. Significant main effects (p < 0.001) were reported for group on the GMDQ, and the standard scores for locomotor and object-control skills, with overweight children reporting lower movement competence than their counterparts. Pearson's correlations revealed relationships (p < 0.001) between BMI and locomotor (r = -0.54) and object-control (r = 20.48) skills, and between BMI and GMDQ (r = 20.54).
Findings indicate that childhood obesity might have adverse effects on gross motor development. Overweight participants showed poorer performance on locomotor and object-control tasks than their non-overweight peers. Interventions to promote physical activity in overweight children should be directed towards achieving a healthy weight and motor skill improvement.
本研究旨在考察意大利南部超重和非超重学龄前儿童的大肌肉运动技能表现，并探究性别差异。
根据国际肥胖工作组（IOTF）的体重指数（BMI）切点，将38名男孩和42名女孩（4.5±0.5岁）分为超重组（n = 38）和非超重组（n = 42）。采用大肌肉运动发展测试来评估七种运动技能（跑、疾驰、单脚跳、跳跃、立定跳远、跳绳和滑行）和五种物体操控技能（双手击球、原地弹跳、接球、踢球和肩上投掷）。计算每位参与者的原始分数、标准分数、百分位数分数以及大肌肉运动发展商数（GMDQ）。对各子测试标准分数和GMDQ进行2（性别）×2（组别）的方差分析。
在子量表标准分数和GMDQ上，男孩和女孩的表现没有差异。在GMDQ、运动技能和物体操控技能的标准分数上，组别存在显著的主效应（p < 0.001），超重儿童的运动能力低于非超重儿童。皮尔逊相关性分析显示，BMI与运动技能（r = -0.54）和物体操控技能（r = -0.48）以及BMI与GMDQ（r = -0.54）之间存在相关性（p < 0.001）。
研究结果表明儿童肥胖可能对大肌肉运动发展产生不利影响。超重参与者在运动和物体操控任务上的表现比非超重同龄人差。促进超重儿童身体活动的干预措施应旨在实现健康体重和运动技能的提升。
