Psychomotor Limitations of Overweight and Obese Five-Year-Old Children: Influence of Body Mass Indices on Motor, Perceptual, and Social-Emotional Skills

Abstract

The present research aimed to study the psycho-motor performance of five-year-old children with different body mass indices (BMI). A total of 694 pre-school children in the province of Albacete-Spain participated. Their performance in motor, perceptual, and social-emotional skills was analyzed using a standardized observation sheet (Checklist of Psychomotor Activities—CPA) and then compared according to their BMI using non-parametric statistical methods (Mann-Whitney test). Separate comparisons were made for girls and boys. Results indicated significant differences in performance amongst the groups of girls in all the motor and perceptual activities, and in the social relationships component of the social-emotional factor. These differences seemed to penalize motor activities, perceptual skills, and social relationships in overweight and obese girls compared to normal weight girls. In the case of boys, there were significant differences in laterality and visual-motor coordination (favoring overweight boys). Differences in respiratory control were also found, but in this case, penalizing obese boys compared to normal weight boys. Knowledge of possible psychomotor limitations in obese children could allow psychologists and healthcare professionals to design more focused interventions.

Children with Obesity Experience Different Age-Related Changes in Plantar Pressure Distributions: A Follow-Up Study in China

“…Altered gait patterns and plantar pressures caused by obesity have been a closely followed issue due to its relationship with balance and a higher risk of injuries [1][2][3][4][5]. Excess weight could lead to specific alterations in plantar pressures, especially for children whose musculoskeletal system is immature and developing [6].…”

Is Body Fat Mass Associated with Worse Gross Motor Skills in Preschoolers?

“…This study aimed to verify the MC of overweight/obese and eutrophic preschoolers controlled for PA 10 , sex, age, socioeconomic status, maternal education 13 , quality of the home environment and quality of the school environment 14 . The identi cation of variables that could interfere with development has an important clinical meaning, since the child's reciprocal relationships with the environment can in uence child development 14,26 .…”

Physical, Perceptual, Socio-Relational and Affective Limitation of Five-Years-Old Children Born Preterm and Full-Term.

“…The development of motor, perceptual, socio-relational and affective skills is a very important aspect in childhood development and it should be approached at an early age, being the basis for acquiring core subjects, aspects that support the executive functions of infants. 14 The data was gathered with the most appropriate information for the study by completing a checklist developed in a previous study with observations made by teachers. 6 These results highlight the importance of prevention and the establishment of referral, observation and follow-up protocols in preterm children by different areas such as medicine, education and psychology for the implementation of actions that favor children born prematurely, 15 avoiding certain motor dissociations that may appear in the early years of childhood, such as those evidenced in the performance of this study; the result of the observation shows de ciencies in both body image and body schema which cause poor motor development, objective and subjective management, aspects closely related to emotional development, being these, the sources of motor sensory integration and social representations; the low scores in the visual-motor association and coordination aspects still in development in each of the learning stages, are also mentioned.…”