Fundamental movement skills, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in association with adiposity in eight-year-old children

Abstract

In this dissertation, the associations between fundamental movement skills (FMS), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and muscular fitness (MF) with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-assessed total body adiposity and abdominal adiposity and body mass index (BMI)-defined weight status in children were examined. Study I was a systematic review, with data gathered from 12 cross-sectional studies that examined associations of FMS and weight status in 3- to 12-year-olds. For Studies II, III, and IV (which use a cross-sectional population-based approach), data were gathered from 304 eight-year-old Finnish children (151 girls and 153 boys) who participated in a study at the UKK Institute – Centre for Health Promotion Research in Tampere, Finland. Children’s FMS were assessed with the Test of Gross Motor Development 2, CRF with the 20 meter shuttle run test, and MF with three tests from the FitnessGram battery. Total body adiposity and abdominal adiposity were assessed with DXA. In addition, weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured, while International Obesity Task Force BMI cut-off points were used to categorize children’s weight as healthy, overweight, or obese. Based on the findings of the systematic review (Study I), there was an inverse but weak association between FMS and weight status. Several assessment methods were used to define FMS, while weight status was mainly established using BMI. The key findings from Studies II, III, and IV revealed that DXA-measured total body adiposity and abdominal adiposity were significantly inversely associated with FMS, CRF, and MF among eight-year-old children. Lower total body adiposity and abdominal adiposity were associated with higher proficiency in FMS. In addition, overweight or obese children with higher levels of CRF or MF had significantly lower total and abdominal adiposity than children in the same BMI category with lower CRF or MF. These inverse associations were also seen among healthy weight children. The results of the present study indicate that children should be encouraged to practice the entire range of FMS, with special attention paid to ensuring that overweight and obese children learn FMS. Further, overweight and obese children with lower levels of CRF or MF should be motivated to engage in activities to enhance those two areas of health-related fitness. The findings highlight the importance of FMS, CRF and MF in children and should be taken into account in teacher education programs and in physical education curricula for primary schools. The insights obtained in this study can also be used to develop more detailed recommendations for obesity prevention and health promotion among school-age children.