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Motor Competence and Physical Fitness in Adolescents Þ´ord´ıs G´ıslad´ottir, MS; Monika Haga, PhD; Hermundur Sigmundsson, PhD Department of Sport Science and Physical Education (Ms G´ısladottir), Reykjav´ık University, Iceland; Department of ´ Physiotherapy (Drs Haga and Sigmundsson), Faculty of Health Education and Social Work, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Psychology (Dr Sigmundsson), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.

Purpose: In this study we examined the relationship between physical fitness and motor competence in adolescents aged 15 to 16 years. Methods: A sample of 94 adolescents participated in the study. To test motor competence, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 was used. Physical fitness was assessed using the following test items: standing broad jump, 20-m dash, reduced Cooper test, and sit-and-reach test. Results: The results revealed a significant but weak relationship (0.248) between motor competence and physical fitness for the whole sample. More specifically, the correlation between the 2 variables was significant for girls (0.353) but not for boys (0.248). Conclusions: The relatively weak relationship between motor competence and physical fitness suggests that motor competence might not be critical in adolescents to maintain their physical fitness. (Pediatr Phys Ther 2014;26:69–74) Key words: adolescent, exercise test/methods, female, male, motor activity/physiology, motor skills/physiology, physical fitness/physiology INTRODUCTION Maintaining appropriate levels of physical activity and physical fitness is essential in developing healthy lifestyles in children and adolescents.1 The evidence that activity and fitness are directly related to health outcomes in younger people is becoming increasingly persuasive.2–5 Despite these known benefits, physical activity levels tend to decline between 9 and 15 years.6,7 In addition, time spent in sedentary behavior seems to increase in adolescence,8 and evidence suggests that many in this age group take part in less activity than is recommended.9 Moreover, healthy and unhealthy behaviors are established during the adolescent years and will have consequences on individuals’ health later in life.2,10,11 Evidence concerning health outcomes of an active lifestyle in youth indicates a link to

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Correspondence: Monika Haga, PhD, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Education and Social Work, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway ([email protected]). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. DOI: 10.1097/PEP.0000000000000006

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cardiovascular risk factors,12,13 overweight and obesity,14 and skeletal15,16 and mental health.17 Motor competence can be conceptualized as a person’s ability to execute different motor acts, including coordination of both fine and gross motor skills.18 In this way, motor competence in young people may be an essential correlate of subsequent physical activity and in the development and maintenance of physical fitness.19–22 Physical fitness is often defined as a set of inherent or achieved personal attributes that relate to capacity to perform physical activity.5,23 Aspects of health-related fitness of particular interest include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, and flexibility.24 These are physical and physiological components that are usually associated with health status, disease prevention, and health promotion.25,26 Physical activity, in the form of activities of daily living, including play, recreational physical activity and sports, requires certain motor competence.27,28 It may therefore be argued that motor competence has an effect upon the likelihood of participation in physical activity,29–31 and hence increase the fitness level and serve as an important tool for promoting health and well-being. Stodden et al32 present a model that hypothesizes a reciprocal and developmentally dynamic relationship between physical activity and motor skill competence. Having proficient motor skill competence is a prerequisite for engagement in physical activity, and reciprocally, Motor Competence and Physical Fitness in Adolescents

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participating in physical activity promotes the development of motor skill competence in children. The relationship between motor skill competence and physical activity is predicted to improve over time. That is, higher levels of motor skill competence will provide a greater motor repertoire, laying the foundation for greater participation in a variety of physical activities, sports, and games. Physical fitness is described as having a mediating role in the relationship between activity and motor skill competence. Acquisition of motor skill competence during physical activity serves to promote physical fitness, and reciprocally, physically fit children are likely to be more physically active and continue to develop motor skill competence.32 Accordingly, the relationship between motor competence and physical fitness should be stronger in adolescence than in younger children. Hands et al33 found a significant modest correlation between motor competence and physical fitness components (−0.13 to 0.33) in their study of adolescents aged 14 years. Physical fitness was measured by chest pass, curl-ups, sit-and-reach, shoulder stretch, body composition, and cardiovascular endurance (bicycle ergometer), and motor competence was assessed by the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development. Associations between motor competence, physical activity, and physical fitness are found to be even stronger at the extremes of the distributions (ie, children who are well vs poorly coordinated, the latter showing reduced activity level and fitness).34–37 Authors of a systematic review of 40 studies on children with motor coordination difficulties have reported that body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength and endurance, anaerobic capacity, and power are negatively associated, to varying degrees, with poor motor competence.38 Longitudinal studies have also shown that the negative effects of poor motor coordination remain as children grow older (ie, over time children with low motor competence tend to score lower on physical fitness test than their peers with high motor competence).39–41 Development of motor coordination and skills is a lifespan developmental process.24,42 However, traditionally the first decade of life (before puberty) has often been seen as the most important period to improve and develop motor coordination and skill.28 Reflecting this, many assessment tools for motor development are designed for this prepubertal age span, and empirical studies in adolescents are infrequent. To date, there have been few empirical studies of the relationship between measured physical fitness and motor competence in adolescents. A better understanding of the nature of this relationship could be usefully applied to maintaining and developing both sufficient physical fitness and motor competence in adolescents as they are potentially important contributors to their health and well-being. To promote health, wellness and fitness in young people, physical therapists have to develop appropriate strategies that are consistent with individual needs, interest, and abilities, such as motor competence.43 70

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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motor competence and physical fitness in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents. METHODS Participants A total of 101 adolescents aged 15 to 16 years were assessed on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2)27 and 4 tasks measuring components of physical fitness. A total of 94 adolescents completed all test items, 46 girls and 48 boys. The entire sample was obtained from 2 secondary schools in the capital city of Reykjavik, Iceland. The sample included adolescents from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and reflected the population. The mean chronological age of the sample was 15.9 years (standard deviation, 3.63 months), the overall range being 15.4 to 16.3 years. The mean age was 15.8 years (standard deviation, 3.62 months) for the girls and 15.9 years (standard deviation, 3.63 months) for the boys. Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 The MABC-227 is an improved version of the MABC,18 which is an extended version of Test of Motor Impairment.44 The MABC-2 provides a global test of motor competence, with assessments of both fine and gross motor coordination, and is designed for the age group from 3 to 16 years. The test yields both a quantitative and a qualitative evaluation of a child’s motor competence in daily life. The test battery contains 8 subtests, which are divided into 3 categories: (1) manual dexterity (3 subtests), (2) ball skills (2 subtests), and (3) static and dynamic balance (3 subtests). Raw scores on items are summed and converted to a percentile rank. The test battery employs different tasks for children of different ages. For each age band, a given individual performance is referenced to a standardization sample of an individual of the same age. The score is assigned to 1 of 3 zones: red zone, amber zone, or green zone. Scores in the green zone represent typical motor performance (>15th percentile), scores in the amber zone are considered borderline performance (between the 5th and 15th percentile), and scores in the red zone indicate a definite motor problem (

Motor competence and physical fitness in adolescents.

In this study we examined the relationship between physical fitness and motor competence in adolescents aged 15 to 16 years...
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