Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Motor Competence in Children Aged 7-10 Years: A Cross-sectional Study

Background and Objectives Motor competence (MC) in fundamental motor skills (FMS) is needed for children to participate in physical activities. This study aims to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and MC in children aged 7-10 years. Subjects and Methods This is a correlational study with a cross-sectional design. Participants were 828 children aged 7-10 years in Ahvaz, Iran who were selected by cluster random sampling method. The test of gross motor development-3, a digital scale, and a stadimeter were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, and two-way analysis of variance were used in data analysis. Results The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children was high. There was a significant negative relationship between BMI and MC in locomotor skills and in total FMS (P<0.05), but no significant relationship was observed between BMI and MC in ball skills (P>0.05). The effect of age was significant on the MC in both locomotor and ball skills and in total FMS (P<0.05). The effect of gender was not significant on the MC in locomotor skills (P>0.05), but was significant on the MC in ball skills and in total FMS (P<0.05). Conclusion Children’s BMI is associated with their low MC in FMS. The increase of MC in FMS with the increase of age confirms the developmental nature of FMS. Due to the lower MC of girls in ball skills, they are at higher risk of delayed motor development. It is recommended to improve their delayed motor development and MC in ball skills by developing appropriate interventions.