Author(s): NIE, Y., YOU, Z., ZHANG, S., Institution: HUNAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, Country: CHINA, Abstract-ID: 1168

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) in the early years is associated with a range of positive health outcomes. It is therefore not surprising that research, practice, and policy efforts have been promoting PA among children since their early years. Another important developmental concern relevant to PA but receiving much less attention is the fundamental movement skills (FMS). Research has demonstrated a wide variety of health benefits associated with FMS, and evidence exists supporting that children with high levels of FMS are more likely to engage in greater PA. Nevertheless, existing research on PA and FMS has predominantly treated FMS as an antecedent of PA; we argued that high PA does not necessarily imply good FMS, especially among young schoolchildren. In the present research, we aimed to examine the extent to which PA levels can predict Year 1 schoolchildren’s FMS.

Method: We recruited 239 Year 1 schoolchildren aged 7 to 8. With informed consent, we assessed participating schoolchildren’s FMS using Eddy et al.’s (2021, 2024) FUNMOVES protocol. FUNMOVES was desired due to its feasibility in school settings. It offers a validated gamified approach assessing six FMS components, namely running, jumping, hopping, throwing, kicking, and balance. We conducted the FUNMOVES assessments in PE school time with the support from school teacher. We then sent a modified 7-item International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to ask participating children’s parents to report the children’s physical activity the in past seven days prior to the FUNMOVES assessment. Parents also assessed participating children’s propensity in developmental coordination problems using the Developmental Coordination Questionnaire (DCDQ; Wilson et al., 2012).

Results: After controlling for potential development coordination problems as covariate, hierarchical regression analyses showed that neither moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) nor total PA significantly predicted any of the six FMS skills (all Ps > .05).

Discussion: The present study provides novel insights into the non-predictability of PA levels in Year 1 schoolchildren’s FMS. The findings suggest that promoting PA cannot guarantee the desired development of FMS in schoolchildren. It is important that schools should design and implement FMS specific training or practices for early year children, rather than simply focusing on promoting PA.