Živan Milosević1, Katarina Gačević1
1Academy of Applied Studies, Unit for Nursery and Pre-School Teachers, Sabac, Serbia
The Influence of Weight Status on Motor Abilities of Prepubertal Children
Sport Mont 2026, 24(3), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/smj.261008
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the influence of weight status on motor abilities in 9- and 10-year-old children from the city of Šabac, Serbia. The sample consisted of 184 primary school students (107 boys and 77 girls) from the third and fourth grades who participated in the “Sport in Schools – Grow Healthy” project during the 2022/2023 school year. Body mass index (BMI) values were used to categorize children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Motor abilities were assessed using the following tests: standing long jump, 4×10 m shuttle run, sit-ups for 30 seconds, sit-and-reach, and handgrip strength dynamometry. The results indicated that the majority of participants were classified as having normal weight (66.3%), while 20.7% were overweight and 13.0% obese. In boys, significant differences among BMI categories were observed in the standing long jump (F=16.92, p=0.00), 4×10 m shut- tle run (F=19.92, p=0.00), sit-ups (F=4.91, p=0.01), and relative handgrip strength (F=23.19, p=0.00). Post-hoc analysis showed that boys with normal weight achieved significantly better results compared to overweight and obese peers, while no significant differences were observed in the sit-and-reach test (F=1.42, p=0.25).In girls, statistically significant differences were found in the standing long jump (F=6.79, p=0.00), 4×10 m shuttle run (F=4.95, p=0.01), sit-ups (F=3.67, p=0.03), and relative handgrip strength (F=8.30, p=0.00). Post-hoc analysis indicated that girls classified as obese gen- erally performed worse compared to girls with normal body weight, particularly in tests assessing explosive strength, speed, and relative muscular strength. Similar to boys, no significant differences were observed in the sit-and-reach test (F=0.08, p=0.93).These findings confirm the inverse relationship between increased body mass index and motor abilities in early school-aged children.
Keywords
obesity, body mass index, prepubertal age
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