The relationship between body mass index and gross motor development in children aged 3 to 5 years.

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between obesity and gross motor development in children who are developing typically and determine whether body mass index (BMI) predicts difficulty in gross motor skills. METHODS BMIs were calculated and gross motor skills examined in 50 children who were healthy aged 3 to 5 years using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd edition (PDMS-2). Pearson chi-square statistic and stepwise linear hierarchical regression were used for analysis. RESULTS A total of 24% of the children were overweight/obese, whereas 76% were found not to be overweight/obese. Fifty-eight percent of the overweight/obese group scored below average on the PDMS-2 compared to 15% of the nonoverweight group. Association between BMI and gross motor quotients was identified with significance of less than 0.002. Regression results were nonsignificant with all 50 subjects, yet showed significance (P = 0.018) when an outlier was excluded. CONCLUSIONS Children aged 3 to 5 years with high BMIs may have difficulty with their gross motor skills. Further research is needed.