preschool motor development predicting high school health-related physical fitness: a prospective...

ISSN 0031-5125DOI 10.2466/10.25.PMS.119c16z8

© Perceptual & Motor Skills 2014Perceptual & Motor Skills: Physical Development & Measurement

PRESCHOOL MOTOR DEVELOPMENT PREDICTING HIGH SCHOOL HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY 1

ERIC VLAHOV

University of Tampa

TIMOTHY M. BAGHURST

Oklahoma State University

MWARUMBA MWAVITA

Oklahoma State University

Summary .— To address the obesity epidemic there is an increasing eff ort to emphasize physical activity and fi tness in adolescence as opposed to fundamen-tal motor skills. However, what eff ect this might have on health-related fi tness is unclear. This study sought to determine the degree to which motor development competencies in preschool could predict high school fi tness. In the initial study, participants were 143 male and 139 female preschoolers ( M age = 4.8 yr., SD = 0.7) from four preschool programs in suburban area of a Southern state who completed the Test of Gross Motor Development. Eleven years later, 75 boys and 65 girls ( M age = 15.8 yr., SD = 0.7) from the original sample were located and completed the AAHPERD Health Related Fitness Test (1.5 mile run, sit-up, sit-and-reach, body fat percentage). Test of Gross Motor Development scores were found to be strong predictors for all measures of fi tness, but object control skills were more predictive of overall physical fi tness than locomotor skills. Therefore, educators should con-sider teaching sport skill development in early childhood over general activity to improve long-term fi tness.

Increasing the number of physically active individuals may help to address the obesity epidemic that continues to worsen among children and youth ( Whitlock, Williams, Gold, Smith, & Shipman, 2005 ; Nation-al Center for Health Statistics, 2010 ). Physical activity rates decline sig-nifi cantly for youth during the high school years ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011 ). Interventions to counter this problem are needed, as diseases associated with childhood obesity are numerous ( Gardner, Gardner, & Sowers, 2008 ).

Unfortunately, a general decrease in childhood physical activity in ad-dition to reductions in school health and physical education classes has been well documented (e.g., Whitt-Glover, Taylor, Floyd, Yore, Yancey, & Matthews, 2009 ; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011 ). For example, only 3.8%, 7.8%, and 2.1% of elementary, junior/middle, and high schools require daily physical education, respectively (Department of Health and Human Services). Thus, while obesity increases among youth, physical activity appears to be on the decline. Evans, Finkelstein,

2014, 119, 1, 279-291.

1 Address correspondence to Timothy Baghurst, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74074 or e-mail ( [email protected] ).

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Kamerow, and Renaud (2005 ) reported that the general public considers obesity as a threat to a child's health equal to drugs, and support school-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Ninety-four percent of 1,010 participants surveyed supported healthy eat-ing and exercise education, 82% supported more time in physical educa-tion, and 69% supported more recess and intramural opportunities.

Fundamental Motor Skills Among the precepts of physical education is that the development of

fundamental motor skills may result in greater participation in physical activity and lifetime sports ( Zaichkowsky & Larson, 1995 ). If fundamental motor skills are building blocks for more advanced motor and sport skills, then children must become profi cient in them to achieve a modicum of success in sport later in life. Fitness and health professionals assert that regular physical activity corresponds to improved physical fi tness ( Rinne, Pasanen, Miilunpalo, & Malkia, 2010 ). For example, Matvienko and Ah-rabi-Fard (2010 ) found that a four-week kindergarten and Grade 1 after-school program could improve both motor skills and fi tness by the end of the program, and were also signifi cant predictors of cardiovascular fi tness four months later.

There are disparities in the literature regarding the likelihood of trans-ferring specialized skills used in competitive sport participation with life-long participation in physical activity. According to Zaichkowsky and Larson (1995 ), development of basic motor fi tness enhances the likelihood that people will engage in physical activity. However, profi ciency in fun-damental motor skills must be acquired through deliberate practice ( Stod-den & Goodway, 2007 ).

Fundamental Motor Profi ciency, Physical Activity, and Fitness Some studies have examined the eff ect of motor skill profi ciency on

physical activity engagement. Krombholz (2012 ) reported that a 20-mo. physical activity intervention among preschool-aged children could sig-nifi cantly improve motor performance and physical fi tness, but did not lower body weight, Body Mass Index, or skinfold thickness. Barnett, van Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, and Beard (2009 ) predicted whether early child-hood motor skill development impacted health-related physical fi tness several years later, and their results suggested that fundamental motor skills could in part predict participants' level of vigorous physical activity. However, the vigorous physical activity was determined via a survey and it is unclear how vigorous physical activity equates to physical fi tness lev-els. Over a four-year period, Lopes, Rodrigues, Maia, and Malina (2011 ) reported that physical activity levels were either amplifi ed or attenuated by motor skill profi ciency. Therefore, the present study sought to extend


PREDICTING HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL FITNESS 281

these fi ndings by objectively measuring actual health-related fi tness fol-lowing an 11-yr. gap.

Investigators have explored the role of selected movement skills such as jumping, catching, and balancing as predictors of physical activity in adolescence. McKenzie, Sallis, Broyles, Zive, Nadar, Berry, et al . (2002 ) re-ported fi ndings contrary to that of Barnett, et al . (2009 ). They compiled physical activity data in pre-pubescent children via interviews, but as-sessed physical attributes through only one jumping measure in addi-tion to skinfold. Thus, they did not consider standardized fi tness scores or employ any authentic assessment strategies to gather activity prevalence. These confl icting fi ndings suggest that the importance of developing skills for sport participation is relatively unknown, yet should be studied as it may impact future endeavors in physical activity.

Furthermore, the question of motor profi ciency must be examined when physical activity modes are selected. For example, if an individual lacks the fundamental motor skills necessary to be successful in a yoga class, recreational resistance training, or basketball, he or she may be less likely to pursue these modes of physical activity at any stage of life. If this postulate holds true, then developing competency in motor skills should lead to im-proved levels of success in a variety of activities, which may result in a more physically active and healthier individual throughout the lifespan.

Fundamental Motor Skills, Body Weight, and Sex DeLany (1998 ) maintained that energy expenditure, after controlling

for body size, is similar between obese and non-obese children. Because low physical activity is among the prime contributors to obesity, it is still unclear whether children have the fundamental motor skills necessary for physical activity success. Butts, Heitman, and Gilley (1995 ) found no sig-nifi cant relationship between engagement in physical activity and achieve-ment scores of measures of fi ve motor fi tness parameters measured by the AAHPERD Youth Fitness and Health Related Fitness tests among fourth graders. Conversely, Okely, Booth, and Chey (2004 ) found that there was a signifi cant relationship between fundamental motor skill success and both Body Mass Index and waist circumference. This is furthered by Fish-er, Reilly, Kelly, Montgomery, Williamson, Paton, et al . (2005 ) who found that “total movement skills score… signifi cantly [correlate] with total physical activity… and percent time spent in moderate to vigorous physi-cal activity” (p. 686).

How motor skills are aff ected by both sex and body weight needs fur-ther investigation. Motor skills are generally poorer among children who are obese ( D'Hondt, Deforche, De Bourdeaudhuij, & Lenoir, 2009 ), and Moliner-Urdiales, Ruiz, Vicente-Rodriguez, Ortega, Rey-Lopez, España-Romero, et al . (2011 ) found that girls had higher body fat and lower motor



control scores than boys. It is encouraging that interventions can be suc-cessful in improving motor coordination of both male and female children who are overweight ( D'Hondt, Gentier, Deforche, Tanghe, De Bourdeaud-huij, & Lenoir, 2011 ). Okely, Booth, and Patterson (2001 ) postulated that among girls even small improvements in fundamental movement skills can signifi cantly increase participation in sport. These reports highlight the need for motor profi ciency development to encourage increased fi t-ness activities; however, to date it is unclear which types of motor skills af-fect fi tness levels the most, and whether there are diff erences by sex.

The necessity for determining whether fundamental motor skills de-veloped during early childhood impacts future physical fi tness is support-ed by Lubans, Morgan, Cliff , Barnett, and Okely (2010 ), who systematical-ly reviewed the current literature on fundamental motor skills and their associated benefi ts. From their review they concluded that while overall fundamental motor skills are related to health, “More longitudinal and intervention research examining the relationship between fundamental motor skills competency and potential psychological, physiological and behavioural outcomes in children and adolescents is recommended” (p. 1019). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess whether fun-damental motor skills, separated by object control and locomotor-based skills, could predict health-related fi tness in a prospective design. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What is the re-lationship between the locomotor scores of preschoolers and their health-related fi tness measures assessed as adolescents? (2) Which are better pre-dictors of health-related fi tness: locomotor skills or object control skills? (3) After controlling for skinfold, what is the relationship of (a) locomotor skills and health-related fi tness, and (b) object control skills and health-related fi tness? (4) Are there diff erences between boys and girls on loco-motor scores? (5) Are there diff erences between boys and girls on fi tness scores?

METHOD

Participants In the fi rst stage of this study, participants were 282 preschoolers (143

boys, 139 girls) ages 4 to 6 yr. ( M = 4.8, SD = 0.7), acquired from four pre-school programs in a suburban area of a Southern state. In the second stage of the study, 11 yr. later, 144 of these same participants were located and asked to participate in a follow-up study. Two participants did not return the parental release and an additional two did not complete the assess-ment, yielding 140 participants almost evenly split between boys ( n = 75) and girls ( n = 65) and ages ranged from 15 to 17 yr. ( M = 15.8, SD = 0.7). Par-



ticipants were recruited from three public and two private schools in the area of the original study.

Measures Motor development .— In the fi rst assessment, the Test of Gross Motor

Development ( Ulrich, 1985 ) was administered. The test consists of two subtest scores: locomotor skills (run, jump, hop, leap, gallop, skip, and slide) and object control skills (two-handed strike, stationary bounce, catch, kick, and overhand throw). Locomotor skills could be considered as fundamental motor skills, whereas object control skills could be referred to as sport-based skills. Subtest locomotor raw scores range from 0–26 points and subtest object control raw scores range from 0–19 points. Participants complete each skill three times and a score of zero or one is awarded. The participant receives a zero overall for that skill only when the participant receives a zero on two or more of the three trials. Subtest scores are com-bined and converted to standardized scores according to age.

The Test of Gross Motor Development has long been established as both a valid and reliable measure (e.g., Ulrich, 1985 ), and has been used in a variety of situations with preadolescents and preschoolers (e.g., Dum-mer, Haubenstricker, & Stewart, 1996 ; Marshall & Bouff ard, 1997 ). Ulrich (1985 ) reported stability, internal consistency, and interscorer reliability of 0.96, 0.85, and 0.95 for the locomotor subscale and 0.97, 0.78, and 0.97 for the object control subscales. In their assessment of its construct validity, Evaggelinou, Tsigilis, and Papa (2002 ) concluded that “Physical educators working with young children may use it with confi dence” (p. 483). The Test of Gross Motor Development–2 was not used in the present study, as data collection began prior to its established reliability and validity.

Fitness .— In the follow-up assessment, the AAHPERD Health Related Physical Fitness Test (1980 ) was administered. Included were measures of cardiorespiratory fi tness (1.5 mile run), muscular strength/endurance (fl exed knee sit-ups), fl exibility (sit-and-reach), and body fat (triceps skin-fold). Norms for the AAHPERD Health Related Physical Fitness Test were established from data collected on over 12,000 students in 13 states ( AAH-PERD, 1980 ). Tests of one mile or longer correlate signifi cantly with max-imal aerobic power, and test-retest reliability at this distance has ranged from .75 to over .90 ( AAHPERD, 1984 ). For body fat, the correlations of studies between triceps skinfold and percent fat ranged from 0.58 and 0.93, and the test-retest reliability exceeds .95 ( AAHPERD, 1984 ). The 1-min. bent knee sit-up test and sit-and-reach tests were chosen based on content validity. Studies show test-retest reliability between .68 and .94 for the sit-up test in fi rst grade participants and .70 and .98 for the sit-and-reach test ( AAHPERD, 1984 ). Reliability of the AAHPERD Health Related Physical



Fitness Test has been demonstrated in other studies (e.g., Erbaugh, 1990 ). Furthermore, other variables such as the modifi ed pull-up test yields poor reliability scores among younger children (Erbaugh) and are therefore less appropriate for preschoolers.

Procedure Following Institutional Review Board approval along with the con-

sent of all personnel associated with the study including parents, guard-ians, and schools, in the fi rst data collection phase participants' motor skills were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development. Over several days, two university faculty members trained to administer the measure conducted individual testing during the participants' school day using the protocols set forth by Ulrich (1985 ). This included using the standardized protocol whereby each participant was given directions and performances were observed and recorded based on the measure's criteria. The test was conducted individually and lasted approximately 20 min. per participant.

During the second data collection period, and again following re-quired permissions, the AAHPERD Health Related Fitness Test was ad-ministered at fi ve high schools in the same city and geographic area as the fi rst data collection location. The test was administered by each school's physical education teacher, and data were collected as part of the partici-pants' Grade 10 curriculum. All teachers had been trained in its adminis-tration and had prior experience.

Data Analysis All analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 20. Prior to analyses,

data were screened for missing values and violation of assumptions. All regression assumptions were met for this data. To answer the fi rst two re-search questions, two standard multiple regressions were conducted, with each predictor set of variables entered as a block. The third research ques-tion was examined by running sequential regression analysis where skin-fold was controlled. To answer research questions four and fi ve, two sepa-rate one-way analyses of variances were conducted.

RESULTS

Test of Gross Motor Development Scores and Health-related Fitness Measures Scores for both motor control and health-related fi tness tests separat-

ed by sex are presented in Table 1 . Analysis of variance revealed that there were no statistically signifi cant diff erences in the locomotor scores between male and female participants ( F 1, 139 = 0.79, p = .38). However, there were sig-nifi cantly diff erent fi tness scores on the for the 1.5 mile run ( F 1, 138 = 175.96, p = .00), sit-ups ( F 1, 139 = 37.40, p < .001), and sit-and-reach ( F 1, 138 = 4.98, p = .03). In all the fi tness scores, males outperformed female participants.



Results of the multiple linear regression for all students combined and additionally when separated by sex suggest that a signifi cant pro-portion of variation in each health-related fi tness measure was predicted by the total Test of Gross Motor Development score (see Tables 2 and 3 ). Variance explained by object control skills and locomotor skills for each health-related fi tness measure for boys ranged from 0.44 (skinfold) to 0.72 (1.5 mile run/sec.). For girls the range was 0.46 (sit-and-reach) to 0.74 (sit-ups). Both object control and locomotor scores were statistically signif-icant predictors for each of the fi tness measures. Overall, Test of Gross Motor Development scores were found to be strong predictors of cardio-vascular fi tness (1.5 mile run), muscular strength/endurance (sit-up), fl ex-ibility (sit-and-reach), and body fat percentage.

Locomotor vs Object Control Skills in Predicting Health-related Fitness To assess whether locomotor skills or object control skills were a bet-

ter predictor of health-related fi tness, Test of Gross Motor Development scores were separated by subsets of object control skills (two-handed strike, stationary bounce, catch, kick, and overhand throw) and locomotor skills (run, jump, hop, leap, gallop, skip, and slide). Object control scores were a stronger predictor for the 1.5 mile run, sit-up, and body fat percentage; only the sit-and-reach was better predicted by higher locomotor scores. Therefore, object control skills or sport-based skills were more important in predicting overall long-term physical fi tness than locomotor skills.

Controlling for Skinfold Controlling for skinfold aff ected the predictive power of individual

subscales (object control/locomotor) when multiple regression analyses were conducted for each sex ( Table 3 ). When controlling for skinfold, ob-ject control, locomotor, and the Test of Gross Motor Development aggre-gate were strong predictors of all health-related fi tness measures. More specifi cally, skinfold was found to be a signifi cant predictor of the 1.5 mile

TABLE 1 PARTICIPANT MOTOR CONTROL AND FITNESS SCORES BY SEX

VariableBoys ( n = 75) Girls ( n = 65)

M SD M SD

Locomotor skills 11.65 3.68 12.20 3.55

Object control skills 14.08 3.14 11.26 3.38

1.5 mile, sec. 667.04 97.04 973.49 170.83

Sit-ups 51.53 10.21 40.48 11.18

Sit-reach, cm 32.20 7.56 34.94 6.85

Skinfold, % 9.20 3.39 17.51 5.13



run for men and sit-and-reach for women, but it was not a signifi cant pre-dictor of sit-ups for either sex.

DISCUSSION The overarching purpose of this study was to determine the extent to

which fundamental motor skills in preschoolers could predict fi tness as ad-olescents. Test of Gross Motor Development scores were found to be strong predictors of cardiovascular fi tness (1.5 mile run), muscular strength/en-durance (sit-up), fl exibility (sit-and-reach), and body fat percentage. This supports previous research suggesting that the development of fundamen-tal motor skills positively aff ects an individual's physical activity and fi t-ness ( Barnett, et al ., 2009 ; Lloyd, Saunders, Bremer, & Tremblay, 2014 ) .

TABLE 2 RELATIONSHIP OF STUDENTS' HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS SCORES AND TEST OF GROSS MOTOR

DEVELOPMENT ( N = 140)

Dependent Variable Predictor(s) B SE B β R 2

1.5 mile run/sec. a Total (Object control + Locomotor) −22.40 2.15 −0.66† .44

Sit-ups a Total (Object control + Locomotor) 1.56 0.10 0.79 † .63

Sit-reach a Total (Object control + Locomotor) 0.76 0.08 0.63 * .40

Skinfold a Total (Object control + Locomotor) −0.58 0.07 −0.59 † .35

1.5 mile run/sec. b Locomotor −5.80 3.66 −0.10

Object control −39.52 3.74 –0.68 † .72

Sit-ups b Locomotor 0.94 0.18 0.28 †

Object control 2.20 0.19 0.65 † .59

Sit-reach b Locomotor 1.05 0.15 0.52 †

Object control 0.46 0.15 0.22 † .50

Skinfold b Locomotor −0.48 0.15 −0.34 †

Object control −0.70 0.16 −0.46 † .44

1.5 mile run/sec. c Locomotor −20.94 4.19 −0.44 †

Object control −22.75 4.68 −0.45 †

Skinfold 3.30 3.26 0.10 .79

Sit-ups c Locomotor 1.44 0.25 0.46 †

Object control 1.85 0.28 0.56 †

Skinfold 0.06 0.20 0.03 .60

Sit-reach c Locomotor 0.75 0.21 0.39 †

Object control 0.32 0.24 0.16

Skinfold −0.39 0.17 −0.29 * .51 Note .—Results of regression analysis: beta coeffi cients and explained variance. aDependent variable predicted by Total Test of Gross Motor Development score. b Dependent variable predicted by Test of Gross Motor Development subscales. c Dependent variable predicted by Test of Gross Motor Development subscales and skinfold. * p < .05. † p < .01.



When the Test of Gross Motor Development was separated by subsets of object control skills (two-handed strike, stationary bounce, catch, kick, and overhand throw) and locomotor skills (run, jump, hop, leap, gallop, skip, and slide), object control skills, or sport-based skills, were a stronger predictor for the 1.5 mile run, sit-up, and body fat percentage. This is an important fi nding: developing object control skills that are primarily as-sociated with individual and team sports during early childhood appear to be more impactful than locomotor skills on fi tness during adolescence.

Recent research suggests similar fi ndings whereby motor skill pro-fi ciency, specifi cally object control profi ciency (kick, catch, throw) as op-posed to locomotor skills (hop, side gallop, vertical jump), were better pre-dictors of vigorous activity participation ( Barnett, et al ., 2009 ). However, unlike Barnett and colleagues who used a questionnaire to measure vigor-ous physical activity, the present study assessed actual fi tness levels in ad-dition to body fat percentage. This may account for the better prediction.

With respect to sex, both boys and girls with higher object control skills during early childhood had higher fi tness as adolescents, although

TABLE 3 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS' HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS SCORES BY SEX AND TEST OF

GROSS MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Dependent Variable Predictor(s)

Boys ( n = 75) Girls ( n = 65)

B SE B β R 2 B SE B β R 2

1.5 mile run/sec. Locomotor −13.25 1.97 −0.50 † −22.53 3.88 −0.47 †

Object control −14.23 2.31 −0.46 † .72 −25.07 4.08 −0.49 † .69

Sit-ups Locomotor 1.13 0.25 0.41 † 1.41 0.23 0.45 †

Object control 1.51 0.29 0.46 † .59 1.81 0.25 0.56 † .74

Sit-reach Locomotor 0.74 0.15 0.36 † 0.94 0.21 0.49 †

Object control 1.05 0.24 0.44 † .50 0.59 0.22 0.29 † .46

Skinfold Locomotor −0.32 0.10 −0.35 † −0.48 0.15 −0.34 †

Object control −0.43 0.11 −0.40 † .44 −0.70 0.16 −0.46 † .48

1.5 mile run/sec. Locomotor −10.02 1.85 −0.38 † −20.94 4.19 −0.44 †

Object control −9.87 2.21 −0.32 † −22.75 4.68 −0.45 †

Skinfold 10.04 2.09 0.35 † .79 3.30 3.26 0.10 .69

Sit-ups Locomotor 1.02 0.27 0.37 † 1.44 0.25 0.46 †

Object control 1.36 0.32 0.42 † 1.85 0.28 0.56 †

Skinfold −0.35 0.30 −0.12 .60 0.06 0.20 0.03 .74

Sit-reach Locomotor 0.63 0.22 0.31 † 0.75 0.21 0.39

Object control 0.90 0.26 0.38 0.32 0.24 0.16

Skinfold –0.34 0.25 −0.15 .51 −0.39 0.17 −0.29 * .50 Note .—Results of regression analysis: beta coeffi cients and explained variance. * p < .05. † p < .01.



girls benefi ted more from locomotor skills than boys when considering fl exibility. That boys outperformed girls on all fi tness variables is consis-tent with other studies (e.g., Moliner-Urdiales, et al ., 2011 ), but in general girls score much higher on lower body fl exibility tests (e.g., Cauderary, Narring, & Michaud, 2000 ). Because the sit-and-reach is not a whole body measure and has been found to measure hamstring fl exibility almost ex-clusively ( Hartman & Looney, 2003 ), other fl exibility measures that assess upper body fl exibility may have yielded diff erent fi ndings.

That object control scores better predict measures of cardiovascular fi tness, muscular strength, and body fat percentage is an important fi nd-ing and may directly impact the nationwide eff ort to reduce the obesi-ty rate among youth. These results suggest that perhaps skills associated with individual and team sports should be emphasized during preschool and early childhood curriculum design over generic locomotor skills. Thus, national health initiatives for adolescents such as Play 60 ( Nation-al Football League, 2013 ) and Let's Move In School ( Let's Move Active Schools, 2013 ) should focus on sport-based skill development over gener-al physical activity. General movement skills, as evidenced by these fi nd-ings, yield much lower predictive fi tness levels than object control skills. Thus, curricula that emphasize general physical activity over sport-based motor skills could be disserving students in the long-term.

Based on this study, several suggestions are posited to re-address the declining focus on object control skills. First, a focus on locomotor skills over object control skills may predispose or limit an individual to partic-ipation in certain events. Poor agility or coordination may incline an in-dividual to “specialize” in an activity that may have limited lifelong ap-peal. For example, if an individual focuses and develops skills for running events yet loses the option to participate through injury or some other reason, he or she may not have adequately developed the skills necessary to participate eff ectively in other sports. After all, success, largely deter-mined by skill, aff ects motivation to participate ( Barnett, et al ., 2009 ).

Second, object control skills were found to have a higher predictive value than locomotor skills. This fi nding could be attributed to the acquisi-tion of locomotor skills as a by-product of the development of object control skills. For example, in order to be successful in tennis, movements includ-ing the jab step, pivot step, gravity step, lateral crossover, and the lateral shuffl e are required ( Kovacs, 2009 ). Object control skills are more likely to naturally incorporate the development of movement skills than vice versa, and this form of physical activity may provide more opportunities for skill acquisition ( Stodden & Goodway, 2007 ). Consequently, physical educators should consider teaching sport skills such as throwing, catching, striking, and kicking over general physical activity and movement skills. Physical



activity and movement skills will be developed in tandem with sport skills. The fi ndings of this study and others (e.g., Barnett, van Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, & Beard, 2008 ) suggest that such a focus will improve future phys-ical fi tness and better assist in reducing the childhood obesity epidemic more so than a focus on being active in early years.

This study is not without its limitations that allow for future research opportunities. First, although a large portion of the participants complet-ed the second stage of testing, many did not, but this is not surprising given the time between tests. Yet those who did not participate may have potentially yielded diff erent results, and future research should periodi-cally check physical activity and maturation levels. Second, data for each characteristic of health was acquired using only one measure, and more comprehensive measures such as multiple site body fat and upper body fl exibility may have yielded diff erent results. Future studies could consid-er more commonly used fi tness measures and more accurate methods for measuring body fat in addition to other anthropometric measures. Third, this study was limited to a suburban area of a Southern state and may not be applicable to other areas of the country. Therefore, future studies should consider other areas including urban locations and other states.

This prospective study is one of the fi rst of its kind, and provides strong predictive support for the development of fundamental motor skills in preschool and early childhood. More specifi cally, object control skills are in general a greater predictor of future fi tness for both boys and girls than locomotor skills. Thus, governing bodies and sporting organiza-tions that promote physical activity during childhood should consider fo-cusing on the development of fundamental motor skills necessary for suc-cess in sport, a byproduct of which is physical activity. Doing so provides the child with more opportunities to be successful in sports and exercise, and leads to further physiological, psychological, and behavioral benefi ts ( Lubans, et al ., 2010 ).

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Accepted June 25 , 2014 .


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