The Relationship Between Fundamental Motor Skills And Physical Activity In Preschool Children

Objective: The "Chinese Childhood Obesity Report" shows that the overweight and obesity rate of children in China has been rising in recent years.According to reports,lack of physical activity is one of the main reasons,and the development of motor skills is considered to be the main underlying mechanism for promoting physical activity.Fundamental motor skills are divided into three categories: locomotor skills,object control skills,and stability skills.Children at the age of 3-8 years form the basis of a variety of Fundamental motor skills.Some studies have confirmed that preschool children's locomotor skills and object control skills promote their physical activity levels,but some scholars have objected,and there have been no reports on the relationship between stability skills and physical activity.Relevant research in China is still in its infancy,and only review articles clarify the relationship between fundamental motor skills and physical activity of preschool children,and the research objects are foreign children.Therefore,the purpose of this study is to objectively measure the fundamental motor skills and physical activity of preschool children in China,analyzed the relationship between the fundamental motor skills including three subtypes and physical activity,and provided references for further research in related fields and the formulation of physical activity intervention measures for preschoolers.Methods: A total of 253 study subjects were recruited from five kindergartens in Zhengzhou City to participate in the study voluntarily,and their body morphology indexes,fundamental motor skills(FMS)and physical activity(PA)were measured.Among them,the third edition of Test of Gross Motor Development was used to measure locomotor skills(LC)and object control skills(OC),and 3 to 10-year-old Children's Fundamental Motor Skills Development Test was used to measure stability skills(SA).Three-axis accelerometers were used to measure physical activity,and the average acceleration count per second,daily low intensity(LPA),moderate intensity(MPA),and vigorous intensity(VPA)physical activity time were derived,and moderate and vigorous intensity(MVPA is the sum of MPA and VPA)and total physical activity time(TPA is the sum of LPA,MPA and VPA).The relationship between FMS and PA was analyzed by linear regression.The control variables were BMI and accelerometer wearing time.The independent variables were LC,OC,SA,and FMS scores.The dependent variables were weekly average,weekday,and weekend average acceleration per second.Count,LPA,MPA,VPA,MVPA and TPA time.Results: A total of 137 subjects(69 males and 68 females)completed the test,with an average age of 4.82 ± 0.76 years.The subjects' LC,OC,SA,and FMS scores were 36.28 ± 7.03 points,32.95 ± 9.79 points,22.82 ± 4.54 points,92.05 ± 18.25 points;Weekly average MVPA and TPA time were 82.57 ± 20.51 min / d and 181.83 ± 33.52 min / d.The MVPA(90.11 ± 30.53 vs.80.04 ± 20.58,p <0.01)and TPA(194.45 ± 50.29 vs.177.51 ± 33.91,p <0.01)of the weekend were significantly higher than weekday.The time of MVPA(45.66 ± 13.40 vs.34.23 ± 11.52,p <0.01)and TPA(104.21 ± 23.19 vs.72.85 ± 19.39,p <0.01)during school were significantly higher than out of school.The results of the linear regression analysis showed that the higher the LC,the higher the per-minute count(B = 0.42,95% CI: 1.16,35.48,p <0.05)of a 4-year-old boy on weekdays,and the higher VPA(B=0.60,95%CI:0.70,2.92,p<0.01)and MVPA(B=0.48,95%CI:0.41,4.80,p<0.05)of a 5-year-old girl on weekends.The higher the OC,the higher the 6-year-old boy 's VPA(B=0.50,95%CI:0.12,2.45,p<0.05),MVPA(B=0.48,95%CI:0.11,4.43,p<0.05),TPA(B=0.40,95%CI:0.03,6.45,p<0.05),and count per minute(B=0.59,95%CI:0.25,48.64,p<0.05)on weekends;The lower the OC,the higher LPA(B=-0.31,95%CI:-1.98,-0.18,p<0.05)for a 4-year-old girl on weekends.The higher the SA,the higher the average MPA(B=0.37,95%CI:0.07,2.21,p<0.05)?per-minute count(B=0.45,95%CI:0.99,-35.06,p<0.05),and the higher the MPA(B=0.41,95%CI:0.18,2.41,p<0.05)?per-minute count(B=0.48,95%CI:7.00,73.35,p<0.05)on weekdays of a 4-year-old boy;The lower the SA,the higher the average MPA(B=-0.58,95%CI:-3.48,-0.07,p<0.05),TPA(B=-0.58,95%CI:-11.22,-0.84,p<0.05),and per-minute count(B=-0.56,95%CI:-100.50,-4.52,p<0.05)for a 6-year-old girl,and also the higher the TPA(B=-0.52,95%CI:-10.59,-0.10,p<0.05)and per-minute count(B=-0.55,95%CI:-103.95,-5.81,p<0.05)on weekdays.The higher the FMS,the higher the average count per minute(B=0.42,95%CI:0.42,14.20,p<0.05)?the count per minute(B=0.45,95%CI:1.24,16.87,p<0.05)on weekdays for a 4-year-old boy and the higher the MVPA(B=0.42,95%CI:0.01,1.72,p<0.05)on weekends for a 5-year-old girl.Conclusion: The fundamental motor skills of preschool children are well developed.87% of the participants can meet the recommended amount of MVPA,but the number of participants meeting the recommended amount of TPA is small.Moreover,the physical activity is higher on weekends than on weekdays,and higher in school days than out of school.In general,the fundamental motor skills,locomotor skills,and object control skills for preschool children are significantly positively correlated with moderate intensity,moderate to vigorous intensity,total physical activity time,and accelerometer counts per minute.