Weight, Waist, and Why It Matters: Somatic Drivers of Motor Competence in Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17433657Keywords:
Motor competence, childhood obesity, balance, gender differences, developmental coordination disorder (DCD).Abstract
TheThe study examined motor competence and somatic measures in 37 Croatian children aged 8–9 using MABC-2. Anthropometry included height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and four skinfolds. Weight status was evenly split: 48.65% were normal weight, 48.65% were overweight/obese, and one participant was underweight. No statistically significant gender differences appeared in somatic variables. In motor performance, girls outperformed boys on drawing (manual dexterity), whereas boys scored higher for catching and the combined aiming-and-catching domain; other domain differences were nonsignificant. Correlational analyses showed strong positive interrelations among adiposity indicators (weight, BMI, WHtR, waist, skinfolds). Balance correlated negatively with adiposity (r ≈ -0.50 to −0.60), and the total MABC-2 composite correlated negatively with BMI, WHtR, waist circumference, and skinfolds (r ≈ -0.35 to −0.44), indicating that higher adiposity was accompanied by lower motor competence. Traffic-light classification identified 78.4% children in typical development, 13.5% “at risk”, and 8.1% possible DCD. Findings highlight urgent needs for screening, targeted PE, and healthy-weight promotion.
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