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The relationships between children's motor competence, physical activity, perceived motor competence, physical fitness and weight status in relation to age

The goal of this cross-sectional study was to further explore the relationships between motor competence, physical activity, perceived motor competence, physical fitness and weight status in different age categories of Dutch primary school children. Participants were 2068 children aged 4 to 13 years old, divided over 9 age groups. During physical education classes, they completed the 4-Skills Test, a physical activity questionnaire, versions of the Self-Perception Profile for Children, Eurofit test and anthropometry measurements. Results show that all five factors included in the analyses are related to each other and that a tipping point exists at which relations emerge or strengthen. Physical fitness is related to both motor competence and physical activity and these relationships strengthen with age. A relationship between body mass index and the other four factors emerges in middle childhood. Interestingly, at a young age, motor competence and perceived motor competence are weakly related, but neither one of these have a relation with physical activity. In middle childhood, both motor competence and perceived motor competence are related to physical activity. Our findings show that children in late childhood who have higher perceived motor competence are also more physically active, have higher physical fitness, higher motor competence and lower body mass index. Our results indicate that targeting motor competence at a young age might be a feasible way to ensure continued participation in physical activities throughout childhood and adolescence.

Age-dependent relationships between children’s motor competence, physical activity, perceived motor competence, physical fitness and weight status

In their developmental model, Stodden et al. (2008) propose age-dependent relations between motor competence, physical activity,perceived motor competence, physical fitness, and weight status thatcan lead to a spiral of (dis)engagement. The goal of this study was toexplore these relations in a large sample of Dutch primary schoolchildren. To our knowledge, this is the first study including all fiveaspects of the model and a large sample of children between four andthirteen years old. Cross-sectional data was collected in 2068 children(ages 4–13), divided over 9 age groups. During physical educationclasses, they completed the 4-Skills Test, a physical activity question-naire, versions of the Self-Perception Profile for Children, Eurofit testand anthropometry measurements. Correlation coefficients per agegroup were calculated (full information maximum likelihood) andtransformed using a Fisher’s r to z transformation, after which thetest-statistic z was calculated. The results show that all five factors arerelated to each other and that a tipping point exists at which relationsemerge or strengthen. Physical fitness is related to motor competenceand physical activity and these relationships strengthen with age. Arelationship between BMI and the other four factors emerges in middlechildhood. Although the model described that physical activity stimu-lates motor competence in early childhood, our data showed that at ayoung age, both motor competence and perceived motor competencehad no relation with physical activity, while they were weakly related toeach other. In middle childhood, both motor competence and perceivedmotor competence were related to physical activity. Our findingsdemonstrate that children in late childhood who have higher perceivedmotor competence are also more physically active, have higher physicalfitness, higher motor competence and lower BMI. Our results indicatethat targeting motor competence at a young age might be a feasible wayto ensure continued participation in physical activities throughoutchildhood and adolescence. Funding source: Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

The effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown on motor skills of Dutch primary children

Evaluation of a participatory physical activity promotion intervention in Dutch adolescents: the SALVO study

AbstractThis study assessed the efficacy of a co-designed, school-based intervention meant to promote physical activityand fitness among Dutch prevocational secondary students. In a two-year clustered randomized controlled trial,students’ physical activity and fitness was measured by indirect and direct methods. In the intervention group,we used the triple-I procedure, a participatory action research method, to co-design the intervention together withthe students and schools. This procedure involved focus group discussions by interviewing and imagingtechniques, followed by a co-design process to align the intervention content and implementation processes withstudents’ preferences. The study involved 22 Dutch schools, with a total of 2685 13-to-14-year-old prevocationalsecondary students. Schools were randomly assigned to either intervention (11 schools, 1446 students) or controlgroup (11 schools, 1239 students).There were no significant intervention differences between students’ overallphysical activity behavior on intervention versus control schools. However, with regards to various specificphysical fitness indicators, such as the long jump, handgrip strength, shuttle run test, and the sum of skinfolds,intervention school students performed significantly better than the control group students. Furthermore, whentaking into account student participation, i.e. the success of the co-design process, schools with higher levels ofstudent participation showed higher shuttle run scores. However, such graded effects were not similarly apparentwith regards to students’ physical fitness indicators. This study showed that co-designing a comprehensivephysical activity intervention on numerous Dutch high schools via the Triple-I Interactive Method was feasible.Moreover, results showed that certain aspects of physical fitness were improved after two years of intervention,although taken together with the lack of effects on physical activity, results were mixed.

Om toch

Poster (A3) en begeleidende brief met de tekst van de kinderlezing als uitgesproken bij ondertekening van het Convenant Meer Muziek in de Klas lokaal Groningen

In 63 factoren naar een glimlach in de les bewegingsonderwijs

Van de vakleerkrachten bewegingsonderwijs kiest 80% “plezier in bewegen” als belangrijkste doelstelling van het bewegingsonderwijs. Zij gebruiken plezier als graadmeter voor kwaliteit van de gymlessen. Maar hoe ze de mate van plezierbeleving tijdens de gymles kunnen inschatten is nog onduidelijk. De zes ALO’s werken gezamenlijk aan de ontwikkeling van een monitoring tool om beweegplezier inzichtelijk te maken. De eerste stap was het achterhalen van factoren die bijdragen aan beweegplezier.RelevantiePlezier in bewegen is een belangrijke factor voor een leven lang bewegen.MethodeBij 90 leerlingen uit 18 klassen (groep 5 en 7) is tijdens focusgroepen uitgevraagd welke factoren bijdragen aan plezier tijdens het bewegingsonderwijs. Daarnaast is een vragenlijst naar die factoren en naar de plezierbeleving (middels de PACES) afgenomen bij 309 leerlingen. Door middel van Spearman correlaties is er gekeken of er een verband is tussen de factoren en de plezierbeleving.ResultatenUit de focusgroepen kwamen 63 factoren die bijdragen aan plezier in de les bewegingsonderwijs, die konden worden onderverdeeld in 10 clusters, wetende eigenaarschap, beweegactiviteiten, beweegtijd, groeperen, leerproces, regels en afspraken, samenwerken, uitleg, verbinding en veiligheid. 65% van de uitgevraagde factoren had een significante correlatie met plezierbeleving (Spearman’s rho=0.16-0.59), waarbij factoren over competentie (0.53) en verbinding met de docent (0.54) hoog scoorden, evenals de activiteiten leuk vinden (0.59) en een duidelijke uitleg (0.54), terwijl eigenaarschap niet gecorreleerd was aan beweegplezier.Discussie en conclusieDe 63 factoren laten zien dat plezier in het bewegingsonderwijs een breed en veelzijdig concept is. De meerderheid van de factoren liet een verband zien met de plezierbeleving. Het ontbreken van correlaties tussen de overige factoren en plezierbeleving kan komen doordat een aantal factoren voor slechts een deel van de leerlingen als belangrijk wordt bevonden. Dit onderstreept het belang van een meetinstrument om plezierbeleving en de diverse factoren goed in kaart te brengen bij alle leerlingen.