Breakdown of motor skills in primary school children: weight status and gender

Abstract

The Primary Education phase marks the beginning of formalized and systematic instruction for many children. In the field of Physical Education, one of its fundamental purposes is to promote the development of basic motor skills. The objectives of this study were, on the one hand, to analyze gender differences in basic motor skills among a group of primary school children, and on the other hand, to examine the relationship of weight status with these same motor skills. We analyzed a sample of 145 girls and 142 boys, aged between 8 and 12 years. A scale of assessment of basic motor skills was used to evaluate their motor skills. Anthropometric measurements were collected to ascertain their weight status. The girls and boys showed similar competence in locomotor skills and turn and rolling skills. The girls had the lowest levels in object control competence whit a significant difference regarding boys (p ≤.05). The intra-gender analysis indicated that overweight boys perform worse than boys with normal weight in motor competence for locomotor activities and turning, showing significant differences. Conversely, among girls, these differences are observed in motor competence related to object control. These findings underscore the importance of addressing gender differences and weight status when designing interventions to enhance motor skills in the childhood population.