Associations between gross motor skills, adiposity and bone mineral density among boys in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study. Journal of Sport Sciences and Physical Education.

Journal Article

Abstract: Development of gross motor skills is important for a child’s health and cognition. Early evaluation of gross motor skills during elementary school years is important to monitor and respond to the developmental needs of the child. The association between childhood obesity and gross motor skills in some populations, such as Saudi Arabia is still unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between gross motor skills, adiposity and BMD- radius z-scores among non-overweight and overweight/obese boys in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study (n= 48) was conducted in Riyadh city in February 2020 to collect data on children’s gross motor skills, BMD- radius z-score and anthropometric measurements. Non-overweight and overweight/obese boys did not significantly differ in their locomotor standard scores (p=0.093), object control standard score (p=0.876), gross motor quotient (p=0.297), or BMD radius z-scores (p=0.343). BMI was moderately and negatively correlated with locomotor standard scores rs(46) =-0.323, p = 0.025. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes, including both boys and girls are needed to better understand the associations between gross motor skills, adiposity and BMD among obese/overweight and non-overweight Saudi children.

• Publisher Name: Journal of Sport Sciences and Physical Education.