Search results for "Motor skill"
showing 10 items of 254 documents
How Does the Amount of a Physical Education Intervention Affect Gross Motor Coordination in Early Childhood?
2022
Little is known about the dose–response of physical education interventions on motor coordination in preschoolers. Our aim was to investigate whether the development of motor skills changed depending on different amounts of a physical education program (PEP) in children aged 3–5 years. One hundred forty-five children were recruited from kindergartens and randomly divided into a control group (CG, n = 28), which did not perform any PEP, and two intervention groups, which performed 4 h/week (I1, n = 78) and 10 h/week (I2, n = 39) of a PEP for 16 weeks. Each lesson was set in the form of a programmed game in order to produce fun, thus increasing enthusiasm for participation. Before and after t…
How does physical education affect the development locomotor and object control skills in preschool children?
2016
Introduction Unlike other European countries, in Italian kindergartens the physical education (PE) teacher is not including in the school organic personnel. This is frequently associated with lack of opportunities to perform PE by preschool children. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse whether the effects of a PE program on the development of locomotor and object control skills in preschool children would depend on the hour amount of intervention. Methods This study involved 189 children (age: 4.62 ± 0.97 years; Height: 107.83 ± 7.82 cm, body weight: 19.84 ± 4.95 kg) of 8 Palermo kindergartens who were randomly divided in a control group (C, n= 29), an intervention group 1 (I1, …
A teacher-led motor programme to enhance pre-literacy and motor skills in kindergarten children
2020
Structured motor tasks may affect cognitive development by creating a cognitively challenging “enriched environment’, giving opportunity for social cooperation, increasing the joy to learn through play, improving the sense of mastery and competence. The study investigated the association between motor and cognitive exercises, through a teacher-led programme, to provide kindergarten children with the skills necessary for school literacy. Using a cluster-randomized trial design with an intervention group (N = 110) and a control group (N = 64), we examined the effects of a 3-month teacher-led motor programme enriched by executive function tasks. In the intervention group, significant gains wer…
Impact of a physical education service-learning programme on ASD children: A mixed-methods approach
2021
Abstract Background. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have few opportunities to engage in physical activity, which affects their already limited social and motor skills. Different Service-Learning (SL) proposals designed to meet this need have started to emerge, and research is required to better understand the services provided. Objective. Two objectives were established in this study: (1) to understand the impact of a physical education SL programme from the viewpoints of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students and the families of the children with ASD involved; and (2) to analyse the programme’s effects on the motor domain of children with ASD (physical activity …
Urban environment and cognitive and motor function in children from four European birth cohorts
2021
[EN]Background: The urban environment may influence neurodevelopment from conception onwards, but there is no evaluation of the impact of multiple groups of exposures simultaneously. We investigated the association between early-life urban environment and cognitive and motor function in children. Methods: We used data from 5403 mother-child pairs from four population-based birth-cohorts (UK, France, Spain, and Greece). We estimated thirteen urban home exposures during pregnancy and childhood, including: built environment, natural spaces, and air pollution. Verbal, non-verbal, gross motor, and fine motor functions were assessed using validated tests at five years old. We ran adjusted multi-e…
Understanding the Role of Sensorimotor Beta Oscillations
2021
Beta oscillations have been predominantly observed in sensorimotor cortices and basal\ud ganglia structures and they are thought to be involved in somatosensory processing\ud and motor control. Although beta activity is a distinct feature of healthy and pathological\ud sensorimotor processing, the role of this rhythm is still under debate. Here we review\ud recent findings about the role of beta oscillations during experimental manipulations (i.e.,\ud drugs and brain stimulation) and their alteration in aging and pathology. We show how\ud beta changes when learning new motor skills and its potential to integrate sensory input\ud with prior contextual knowledge. We conclude by discussing a n…
Body mass index in the early years in relation to motor coordination at the age of 5–7 years
2017
Physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) are consistently associated with motor coordination (MC) in children. However, we know very little how BMI in early childhood associates with MC later in childhood. This study investigated associations between BMI in early childhood and BMI, PA, and MC in middle childhood. Children aged 5 to 7 years (n = 64, 32 girls) were measured for MC using Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) and for moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) using triaxial accelerometers. Prevailing body weight and height were measured, and information on weight and height in early years was based on parental report of child health care report cards. Age-adjusted BMIz scores we…
A family based tailored counselling to increase non-exercise physical activity in adults with a sedentary job and physical activity in their young ch…
2011
Background. Epidemiological evidence suggests that decrease in sedentary behaviour is beneficial for health. This family based randomized controlled trial examines whether face-to-face delivered counselling is effective in reducing sedentary time and improving health in adults and increasing moderate-to-vigorous activities in children. Methods. The families are randomized after balancing socioeconomic and environmental factors in the Jyväskylä region, Finland. Inclusion criteria are: healthy men and women with children 3-8 years old, and having an occupation where they self-reportedly sit more than 50% of their work time and children in all-day day-care in kindergarten or in the first grade…
The Effects of Resistance Training on Physical Fitness and Neuromotor-Cognitive Functions in Adults With Down Syndrome
2022
Adults with Down syndrome are an underserved population at high risk for a host of different pathologies from aging and lack of activity.PurposeTo examine the effects of a 10-week resistance training program on measures of motor behavior, cognitive function, mood, and physical fitness.MethodsParticipants (n = 11) were men and women clinically diagnosed with Down syndrome (age: 25.8 ± 6.4 years; height: 151.5 ± 8.3 cm; weight: 67.5 ± 13.0 kg; IQ: 58.3 ± 19.7 units). After familiarization of testing procedures, subjects performed The Arizona Cognitive Test Battery for Down Syndrome, TGMD-2, lower and upper body strength assessments, and body composition via DXA testing, while parental guardia…
The effects of motor skill and physical activity interventions on preschoolers' cognitive and academic skills: A systematic review
2022
The present systematic review aimed to investigate the methodological quality and the effects of fundamental motor skills and physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic skills in typically developing 3 to 7-year-old children. The review was conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A literature search was carried out in April 2020 using seven electronic databases. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed with the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. Cohen's d effect size calculations and post hoc power analyses were conducted for the in…