Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function
Fundamental motor skills (FMS) and cognitive function are important indicators of development in early childhood. Using a cross-sectional design, the purpose of this study was to investigate obesity (healthy weight vs. overweight/obese) and socio-demographic (i.e., gender, SES) disparities in FMS (l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1134647/full |
| _version_ | 1827942651208400896 |
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| author | Samantha Moss Xiaoxia Zhang Priscila Tamplain Xiangli Gu |
| author_facet | Samantha Moss Xiaoxia Zhang Priscila Tamplain Xiangli Gu |
| author_sort | Samantha Moss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fundamental motor skills (FMS) and cognitive function are important indicators of development in early childhood. Using a cross-sectional design, the purpose of this study was to investigate obesity (healthy weight vs. overweight/obese) and socio-demographic (i.e., gender, SES) disparities in FMS (locomotor and ball skills) and cognitive function (reaction time [RT] and movement time [MT]), in preschoolers. There were 74 preschoolers (girl = 38; Mage = 4.02 ± 0.73) recruited from two childcare centers and were categorized into healthy weight (n = 58, BMI percentile < 85%) and overweight/obese (n = 16, BMI percentile ≥ 85%) categories. Children’s FMS were assessed using the TGMD-3; cognitive function was assessed by the iPad-based CANTAB™ software using the Reaction Time Task (RTI), including reaction time (RT; Simple RT [SRT], choice RT [CRT]) and movement time (MT; simple MT [SMT], choice MT [CMT]). Children presented less FMS proficiency compared to recent data. Both weight groups performed comparably in FMS (ps > 0.05; ball skill Cohen’s d = 0.40; locomotor Cohen’s d = 0.02). Children in the overweight/obese group performed significantly worse on all cognitive tests compared to healthy weight peers (ps < 0.05; Cohen’s d range from −0.93 to −1.43). No significant gender or SES disparities were observed. Maintaining healthy weight status is critical for cognitive development among preschoolers, which may influence their developmental trajectory and school readiness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:01:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a06477158cbe40818675d44ca901a931 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:01:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a06477158cbe40818675d44ca901a9312023-05-23T05:12:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-05-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11346471134647Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive functionSamantha Moss0Xiaoxia Zhang1Priscila Tamplain2Xiangli Gu3Kinesiology Department, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY, United StatesKinesiology Department, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, United StatesKinesiology Department, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United StatesKinesiology Department, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United StatesFundamental motor skills (FMS) and cognitive function are important indicators of development in early childhood. Using a cross-sectional design, the purpose of this study was to investigate obesity (healthy weight vs. overweight/obese) and socio-demographic (i.e., gender, SES) disparities in FMS (locomotor and ball skills) and cognitive function (reaction time [RT] and movement time [MT]), in preschoolers. There were 74 preschoolers (girl = 38; Mage = 4.02 ± 0.73) recruited from two childcare centers and were categorized into healthy weight (n = 58, BMI percentile < 85%) and overweight/obese (n = 16, BMI percentile ≥ 85%) categories. Children’s FMS were assessed using the TGMD-3; cognitive function was assessed by the iPad-based CANTAB™ software using the Reaction Time Task (RTI), including reaction time (RT; Simple RT [SRT], choice RT [CRT]) and movement time (MT; simple MT [SMT], choice MT [CMT]). Children presented less FMS proficiency compared to recent data. Both weight groups performed comparably in FMS (ps > 0.05; ball skill Cohen’s d = 0.40; locomotor Cohen’s d = 0.02). Children in the overweight/obese group performed significantly worse on all cognitive tests compared to healthy weight peers (ps < 0.05; Cohen’s d range from −0.93 to −1.43). No significant gender or SES disparities were observed. Maintaining healthy weight status is critical for cognitive development among preschoolers, which may influence their developmental trajectory and school readiness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1134647/fullobesitycognitive functionfundamental motor skillssocio-economic statuspreschoolersreaction time |
| spellingShingle | Samantha Moss Xiaoxia Zhang Priscila Tamplain Xiangli Gu Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function Frontiers in Psychology obesity cognitive function fundamental motor skills socio-economic status preschoolers reaction time |
| title | Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function |
| title_full | Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function |
| title_fullStr | Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function |
| title_full_unstemmed | Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function |
| title_short | Overweight/obesity and socio-demographic disparities in children’s motor and cognitive function |
| title_sort | overweight obesity and socio demographic disparities in children s motor and cognitive function |
| topic | obesity cognitive function fundamental motor skills socio-economic status preschoolers reaction time |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1134647/full |
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