The relationship between body mass index and development of gross motor skills within 5-7 years old children

Document Type : Original research paper

Authors

1 Department of Pediatric, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran.

2 Department of Pathobiology and Laboratory Sciences, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran.

10.22034/hmrj.2023.360319.1059

Abstract

Background and Aim: Obesity in children and adolescents in the 21st century has become a major issue in the global health field. Previous studies showed that obese children have substantial adverse short- and long-term health consequences include asthma, chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, diabetes, numerous orthopedic complications and etc. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and development of gross motor skills in 5-7 years old children.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on children 5-7 years old in Bojnourd city. The sampling method was multistage. A checklist containing demographic data and BMI of participants was completed. The Ulrich's test of gross motor development (3rd edition) was also used to assess gross motor skills in children.

Findings: The age range of participants was 5-7 years. The mean ± standard deviation of age was 6.24 ± 0.82 and mean ± standard deviation weight and its range were 24.8 ± 3.68 and 17.5-32.2. There was a significant statistical difference in gross motor skills scores in the three groups of obese, overweight, and optimal weight (P<0.0001). There was also a significant difference in gross motor skills scores between the two gender groups (P<0.0001).



Conclusion: Higher weight groups had lower motor skills scores. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt appropriate policies for physical activity and to reduce the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 March 2023
  • Receive Date: 10 September 2022
  • Revise Date: 27 December 2022
  • Accept Date: 01 March 2023