Associations between fundamental movement skills and accelerometer-measured physical activity in Chinese children: the mediating role of cardiorespiratory fitness

Dingyi Zhang; Sitong Chen; Fei Xin; Clemens Drenowatz; Xiaoqing Hu; Yan Tang

doi:10.7717/peerj.17564

Associations between fundamental movement skills and accelerometer-measured physical activity in Chinese children: the mediating role of cardiorespiratory fitness

PeerJ. 2024 Jun 24:12:e17564. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17564. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Dingyi Zhang¹, Sitong Chen², Fei Xin¹, Clemens Drenowatz³, Xiaoqing Hu⁴, Yan Tang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
² Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
³ Division of Sport, Physical Activity and Health, University of Education Upper Austria, Linz, Austria.
⁴ College of Sports Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

Background and purpose: The associations of fundamental motor skills (FMS), health-related physical fitness (e.g., cardiorespiratory fitness, CRF), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) have been demonstrated in Western children, but these associations have not yet been validated in a sample of Chinese children. The aims of this study, therefore, were to examine the association between FMS subdomains and MVPA in a sample of Chinese children and to evaluate whether this association is mediated by CRF.

Methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of 311 children aged 8-12 years (49.2% girls; mean age = 9.9 years) from Shanghai was conducted. FMS, CRF and MVPA were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3rd Edition, Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run and ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers. Preacher & Hayes's bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effects of CRF on the association between FMS and MVPA.

Results: CRF fully mediated the association between total FMS and MVPA in girls (indirect effects, b = 0.21, 95% CI [0.07-0.37]), while the mediation was only partial in boys (indirect effects, b = 0.12, 95% CI [0.01-0.26]). CRF fully mediated the association between locomotor skills and MVPA in girls (indirect effects, b = 0.27, 95% CI [0.09- 0.51]), whereas CRF partially mediated the association between object control skills and MVPA in boys (indirect effects, b = 0.15, 95% CI [0.18-0.35]).

Conclusion: In order to better design and implement sex-specific interventions aiming to increase MVPA, it is essential to consider FMS subdomains and CRF alongside the sex differences in the association between them.

Keywords: China; Motor competence; Physical fitness; Sex difference.

MeSH terms

Accelerometry*
Cardiorespiratory Fitness* / physiology
Child
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
East Asian People
Exercise* / physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Motor Skills* / physiology
Sex Factors

Grants and funding

This study is supported by the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 23&ZD197). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.