Normative values of motor performance and their relationship with BMI status in Hong Kong preschoolers

Ka-Man Yip, Hung-Kwan So, Keith T.S. Tung, Rosa S. Wong, Winnie W.Y. Tso, Ian C.K. Wong, Jason C. Yam, Mike Y.W. Kwan, Lobo H.T. Louie, Albert Lee, Wilfred H.S. Wong, Lai-Ling Hui, E. A.S. Nelson, Patrick Ip*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study aimed to establish sex- and age-specific reference values for motor performance (MP) in Hong Kong preschoolers aged 3–5 years old and examine the relationship between MP and BMI status. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5579 preschoolers in Hong Kong. Three MP tests were administered, and height and weight information were collected. GAMLSS was used to compute the normative values of the motor tests. Boys outperformed girls in activities requiring muscle strength and power, while girls outperformed boys in activities requiring balance and coordination. The MP scores increased with age for both overarm beanbag throw and standing long jump for both sexes, while the one-leg balance scores showed larger differences between P50 and P95 in older preschoolers. Children with excessive weight performed worse in standing long jump and one-leg balance compared to their healthy weight peers. This study provides valuable information on the MP of preschoolers in Hong Kong, including sex- and age-specific reference values and the association between BMI status and MP scores. These findings can serve as a reference for future studies and clinical practice and highlight the importance of promoting motor skill development in preschoolers, particularly those who are overweight or obese.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6567
Number of pages9
JournalScientific Reports
Volume14
Issue number1
Early online date19 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 19 Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Keywords

  • BMI status
  • Motor performance
  • Preschoolers

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