Assessment of the Relationship between Body Mass Index and Gross Motor Development in Children

OBJECTIVE Obesity is a growing epidemic and public health problem in children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the gross motor development. MATERIALS & METHODS In this cross-sectional study conducted in 2012-13 in Gorgan, northern Iran, the gross motor development of 90 children 3-5 yr old in three groups of lean, normal and obese/overweight were evaluated by the ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ) and Denver 2 scale. RESULTS Totally, 90 children were enrolled and their developmental level was assessed with two ASQ and Denver II indices. The mean and standard deviation of the ASQ scores of the children was 53.11± 11.06 and based on Denver index, 9 children (10%) were at developmental delay status, 15 (16.7%) in the caution conditions, and 53 (58.9%) at normal developmental status. The developmental level was lower in obese/overweight group comparing with other groups according to both Denver and ASQ and there was a significant difference between obese/overweight group and normal group based in Denver and ASQ, respectively. There was no significant difference between underweight and normal and obese and underweight groups. CONCLUSION Overweight and obesity could affect on the gross motor development.