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

Pedro Gil Madrona, Sonia J. Romero Martínez, Nieves María Sáez-Gallego and Xavier G. Ordóñez Camacho
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Pedro Gil Madrona: Faculty of Education of Albacete, Department of Didactics of Musical Expression, Plastic Arts and Self-Expression through Movement, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Sonia J. Romero Martínez: Faculty of Health Sciences and Education, Department of Psychology, Madrid Open University, 28400 Madrid, Spain
Nieves María Sáez-Gallego: Faculty of Education of Toledo, Department of Didactics of Musical Expression, Plastic Arts and Self-Expression through Movement, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Xavier G. Ordóñez Camacho: Faculty of Education, Department of Research and Psychology in Education, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-19

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.

Keywords: obesity; body mass index; psychomotor development; motor skills; perceptual skills; social-emotional skills (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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