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
. 2022 Jul 11:10:936799.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.936799. eCollection 2022.

Functional Training Focused on Motor Development Enhances Gross Motor, Physical Fitness, and Sensory Integration in 5-6-Year-Old Healthy Chinese Children

Tao Fu  1 , Diruo Zhang  1 , Wei Wang  1 , Hui Geng  1 , Yao Lv  1 , Ruiheng Shen  1 , Te Bu  2
Affiliations

Functional Training Focused on Motor Development Enhances Gross Motor, Physical Fitness, and Sensory Integration in 5-6-Year-Old Healthy Chinese Children

Tao Fu et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Objective: Physical inactivity and sensory integration dysfunction are public health concerns among Chinese preschool children. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a novel functional training program focused on motor development for healthy children aged 5 to 6 years.

Methods: A total of 101 healthy children aged 5 to 6 years in Tianjin were randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 51), which received 12-week functional training featuring essential motor skills, whilst the control group (N = 50) continued with their kindergarten-based physical education curriculum. Test of Gross Motor Development-2, national physical fitness measurement, and sensory integration were evaluated before and after the intervention. Children's height, body weight, and the corresponding pre-intervention test scores were utilized as covariates to compare the post-intervention outcomes between the groups.

Results: After the intervention, the experimental group scored considerably higher (P < 0.01) on the locomotor composite score, object control composite score, and overall gross motor score than the control group; the experimental group scored higher (P < 0.05) on the run, gallop, leap, stationary dribble, kick, striking a stationary ball, overhand throw, and underhand roll motor skill tests than the control group; the experimental group performed considerably better (P < 0.01) on the balance beam walking test and sit-and-reach test than the control group; and, the experimental group performed considerably better (P < 0.01) on the vestibular function, tactile defensiveness, and proprioception than the control group.

Conclusion: A 12-week functional training focused on motor development effectively enhanced gross motor, physical fitness, and sensory integration in 5-6-year-old healthy Chinese children.

Keywords: TGMD-2; motor skill; physical activity; preschool; vestibular function.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Goldfield GS, Harvey A, Grattan K, Adamo KB. Physical activity promotion in the preschool years: a critical period to intervene. Int J Environ Res Public Health. (2012) 9:1326–42. 10.3390/ijerph9041326 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McClelland MM, Cameron CE. Developing together: the role of executive function and motor skills in children's early academic lives. Early Child Res Q. (2019) 46:142–51. 10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.03.014 - DOI
    1. Emck C, Bosscher R, Beek P, Doreleijers T. Gross motor performance and self-perceived motor competence in children with emotional, behavioural, and pervasive developmental disorders: a review. Dev Med Child Neurol. (2009) 51:501–17. 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03337.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gonzalez SL, Alvarez V, Nelson EL. Do gross and fine motor skills differentially contribute to language outcomes? a systematic review. Front Psychol. (2019) 10:2670. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02670 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lei Y, Zhou L, Wang G. Research on the design of functional movement training program based on gross motor development for pre-school children. J Chengdu Sport Univ. (2018) 44:122–6. 10.15942/j.jcsu.2018.01.020 - DOI