Relações entre atividade física, habilidades motoras fundamentais, aptidão física e status de peso corporal em pré-escolares

Abstract

Introduction: the practice of physical activity (PA) should be encouraged for children from preschool age, however most children do not meet the existing PA practice recommendations, which can cause damage to health. Theoretical models hypothesize the relationship between PA and Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS), with the participation of other intervening factors in this relationship, such as physical fitness (PF) and body weight status. Objective: to investigate the associations between physical activity and fundamental motor skills in preschoolers, considering physical fitness and body weight status as possible intervening variables. Methods: this thesis led to the production of a cross-sectional study (n=84, 4.35±0.77 years) and an intervention study (n=72, 4.19±0.94 years) with preschool-age children. AF was measured using accelerometry. The FMS were evaluated from the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd edition (TGMD-2). Physical fitness was measured from the Field-Based Physical FitnessTest Battery in Preschool Children (PREFIT Battery) and the body weight status was represented by the Body Mass Index (BMI) (body mass/height²). In the cross-sectional study, linear regression was applied with analysis of moderation and mediation, respectively, considering a significance level of <0.05. For the intervention study, data were analyzed from a network analysis perspective. Results: the cross-sectional results indicated that PA was negatively associated with FMS scores and this association was moderated by PF, which decreased the strength of the association between PA and total motor score (from β=-0.130, r²=0.232 to β=- 0.099, r²=0.298), and increased the effect size of the association (from f²=0.302 to f²=0.424). The same happened for the mobility scores (from β=-0.069, r²=0.171, f²=0.206 to β=-0.047, r²=0.269, f²=0.367) and object control (from β=-0.060, r²=0.202, f²=0.253 for β=-0.052, r²=0.212, f²=0.269). The intervention data indicated that between the pre and post moments, for the group variable, the expected influence increased ( -0.762 vs. 1,084), while for the BMI it decreased (1,887 vs. 0.655). Moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and cardiorespiratory fitness, respectively, increased the strength of centrality within the network between the two moments (0.215 to 0.500; and -1.233 to 0.630). Conclusion: in the preschoolers evaluated, PF played a moderating role in the association between PA and HMF. Additionally, an intervention program was able to change the network of associations between PA, HMF, PF and BMI, with improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, maintenance of FMS levels and a reduction in the influence of BMI on the emerging pattern of children in the intervention group in compared to the control group.