The motor and cognitive development of overweight preschool children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of overweight compared with healthy-weight children attending kindergartens in Munich, Germany. Mean age of the children at the beginning of the study was 53.2 months (SD = 7.5); the duration of the study was 20 months. At the beginning of the study children were classified as overweight (n = 32) or healthy weight (n = 318) using BMI scores. Dependent variables were aspects of physical growth, physical fitness, body coordination, manual dexterity, and cognitive performance. A higher rate of socially disadvantaged children was overweight compared with socially advantaged children. There was no association between weight and sex. Motor skills improved over trials. Socially disadvantaged and overweight children performed less well in gross motor skills compared with children from backgrounds of higher socioeconomic (SE) status or healthy-weight children. There was also an association between weight and socioeconomic status: overweight children of lower SE status performed less well compared with overweight children of upper SE status in all gross motor tasks. No connection could be found between weight and manual dexterity and cognitive performance.

Keywords:

• preschool children
• overweight
• motor skills
• cognitive performance
• longitudinal study

Notes

1. In contrast to the other tests intelligence was only measured once, before children left kindergarten.

2. A description of the Body Coordination Test can be found in Zaichkowsky, Zaichkowsky, and Martinek (1980, p. 42ff).