Motor coordination in relation to weight status and age in primary school children in Indonesia

Few studies have assessed the relationship between motor coordination (MC) and body composition in children. This study investigated the relationships among obesity, normal weight, and underweight in 7- to 12-year-old children in Indonesia. The suitability of the K & ouml;rperkoordinationstest F & uuml;r Kinder (KTK3+) as a MC assessment tool was evaluated in 986 primary school children (485 girls, 501 boys) from Riau Province, Indonesia. All children performed four subtests: balance beam, jumping sideways, moving sideways, and eye-hand coordination. Weight status (underweight, normal weight, or obese) was classified according to WHO criteria for children 5-19 - 19 years old. Childhood obesity was shown to negatively impact KTK3+ performance (p p = 0.001), with some tests affected by physical characteristics and the body's coordination needs causing the most pronounced body mass index (BMI) effects. Motor quotient (MQ) was strongly related to age. The same MQ was seen in normal-weight children across age groups (p p = 0.400). Meanwhile, the MC performance of obese children in the older age group (10-12 - 12 years old) was much better than that of the lower age group (7-9 - 9 years old) (p p = 0.001). We found that motor impairments were present in 17% of normal-weight children and 28.1% of obese children. Our results showed that the differences in MC associated with BMI were more pronounced in older children. While longitudinal studies are needed to solidify these findings, they underscore the importance of prioritizing early motor skill development in obese children to promote their engagement in physical activity.