Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 1;18(3):1289.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031289.

Association between Physical Activity and Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschool-Aged Children: Does Perceived Movement Skill Competence Mediate This Relationship?

Qing He  1 , Johan Y Y Ng  1 , John Cairney  2 , Chloe Bedard  3 , Amy S C Ha  4
Affiliations

Association between Physical Activity and Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschool-Aged Children: Does Perceived Movement Skill Competence Mediate This Relationship?

Qing He et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to examine whether perceived fundamental movement skills (FMS) competence mediated the relationship between actual FMS and physical activity (PA) in Hong Kong preschool-aged children.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Methods: 148 preschool-aged children (43% girls; mean age = 4.52 ± 0.67 years) from five preschools/childcare centres completed all assessments. Actual FMS was rated using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, whilst perceived FMS was assessed via the Pictorial Scale for Perceived Movement Skill Competence. PA was measured through accelerometry. A bootstrap method was used to assess the potential mediating effect of perceived movement skill competence on the relationship between actual FMS and PA. All mediation models were adjusted for sex and age.

Results: Mediation analyses showed that the direct path between actual FMS and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significant (b = 0.228, p = 0.008), as was the path between MVPA and actual FMS (b = 0.214, p = 0.008). However, perceived FMS competence did not mediate the association between actual FMS and MVPA in the models.

Conclusions: Our results showed evidence of reciprocal pathways between actual FMS and MVPA, reinforcing the need to simultaneously target both domains as part of broader developmental strategies, initiated in early childhood. Unlike emergent adolescence, perceptions of movement skill competence do not play a significant role in influencing the relationship between actual FMS proficiency and MVPA in this developmental period.

Keywords: accelerometry; early childhood; fundamental movement skills; perceived movement skill competence; physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mediating roles of perceived FMS in the association between actual FMS and MVPA.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mediating roles of perceived FMS in the association between MVPA and actual FMS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Bell L.A., Fletcher E.A., Timperio A., Vuillermin P., Hesketh K. Preschool children’s physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk: A systematic review. J. Sci. Med. Sport. 2018;22:568–573. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2018.11.021. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carson V., Lee E.Y., Hewitt L., Jennings C., Hunter S., Kuzik N., Stearns J.A., Unrau S.P., Poitras V.J., Gray S., et al. Systematic review of the relationships between physical activity and health indicators in the early years (0-4 years) BMC Public Health. 2017;17:854. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4860-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jones R.A., Hinkley T., Okely A.D., Salmon J. Tracking physical activity and sedentary behaviour in childhood: A systematic review. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2013;44:651–658. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.03.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Community Sports Committee of the Sports Commission The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Healthy Exercise for All Campaign-Physical Fitness Test for the Community. [(accessed on 18 February 2013)]; Available online: https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/healthy/physical_fitness_test/common/physical....
    1. Stodden D.F., Goodway J.D., Langendorfer S.J., Roberton M.A., Rudisill M.E., Garcia C., Garcia L.E. A developmental perspective on the role of motor skill competence in physical activity: An emergent relationship. Quest. 2008;60:290–306. doi: 10.1080/00336297.2008.10483582. - DOI

Publication types