Motor Skills and Reading in Boys and Girls
Did you know that having good motor skills may help with the reading skills in overweight boys? Researchers from the Journal of Sports Science examined the associations of cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement and whether motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, or sedentary behavior effected these associations in 175 children who were 6 to 8 years old.
Methodology
Each participant was evaluated for body fat percentage (BF%), waist circumference, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, leptin, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).
Reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skills were also evaluated using standardized tests.
In order to determine motor performance and physical activity, the researchers used speed/agility, balance, and manual dexterity test results along with combined heart rate and movement sensor and cardiorespiratory fitness by maximal cycle ergometer test.
Results of the Study on Motor Skills and Reading in Boys
Following data analysis, the research indicated the following:
- a higher body fat percentage and a higher concentration of leptin were inversely associated with reading skills in boys. These associations were linked to poorer motor skills linked to adiposity.
- for girls, the level of GGT, a marker of fatty liver, was inversely related to reading fluency. This association was independent of body fat percentage, motor skills, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and socioeconomic status.
The researchers concluded that children should participate in daily physical activity that includes different opportunities to practice and rehearse motor skills.
References
Eero A. Haapala et al. Mediating effects of motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on the associations of adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement in children, Journal of Sports Sciences (2018). DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1449562
University of Eastern Finland. Good motor skills may enhance reading skills in obese children. Retrieved from the web on 1/20/21 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-good-motor-skills-obese-children.html
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