ANALYSIS OF THE MOTOR STATUS OF YOUNGER SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN IN RELATION TO THEIR NUTRITIONAL STATUS

The aim of the research is to determine whether there are gender differences between younger school-age children, and whether those differences within the sub-sample are influenced by the state of mass and motor skills. The whole sample included 285 respondents age 7.27±0.43, of which 144 boys (50.52%), and 141 girls (49.48%) who attended the first grade on the territory of the Province of Vojvodina (Republic of Serbia). The Eurofit battery of tests was used. The research results show that the prevalence of children with severe thinness in the whole sample is low 3.87%; children with normal mass 65.26%; pre-obese children only 18.59% and obese children only 12.28%, so that gender differences in motor skills considering the whole sample, apart from the mass, are between average values for boys considering explosive strength of the lower extremities, repetitive strength of the body and agility. Statistically significant differences within the sub-sample considering motor abilities were seen neither in boys nor in girls of different mass. The research findings show that there is significant percentage of children with normal mass and that the flow of their mass is within their growth and development. Their motor development within the sub-sample also flows equally, and gender differences are present because of differentiation of motor skills, which appears in this period. The authors think that greater differences and variables in respect to mass and motor activities are to be seen in the period of pre-puberty.