Size of Community and Motor Performance in Preschool Children

Problem: Physical exercise plays a key role in the psychomotor development of young children. However particularly in developed countries an ever increasing number of children suffer from lack of exercise resulting in insufficient motoric capability This current study on preschool kids explores a possible correlation between the size of their hometown and their motoric performance. Method: A total of 1.063 four to five year old children were recruited from 41 kindergartens in Tyrol, Austria. 24 of these kindergartens were in rural communities (<5.000 inhabitants), 12 in small towns (5.000 to 20.000 inhabitants) and Sin big cities (>100.000 inhabitants). Assessment tool for capturing the data was the Karlsruher Motonk-Screening (KMS 3-6). Results: The highest KMS-scores were achieved by children in rural areas (99.2 score points; p <0.01). Gender-related differences were not significant (male 99.8 vs. female 100.1; p >0.4). Differences between normal weight (100.4 score points) and overweight (97.2 score points) children however were significant (p <0.001). Overweight/obesity was observed in 13% of the study population. Conclusion: 'The study shows considerable varieties regarding motoric capabilities of kindergarten children with reference to the size of their hometown. It seems highly advisable to encourage and facilitate physical exercise in kindergartens particularly in urban settlements.