Developmental and physical-fitness associations with gross motor coordination problems in Peruvian children.
Tight, weak, or heavier kids are the likeliest to struggle with gross motor skills—check these three markers first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
de Chaves et al. (2016) visited 21 schools across Peru. They tested flexibility, explosive strength, BMI, and motor coordination in a large group of children. Kids lived at sea level or high altitude. The team wanted to know which traits predict clumsy movement.
What they found
Children with tight muscles, weak jumps, and higher BMI stumbled more on coordination tasks. Older kids and those living at sea level also showed more problems. Kids who had already hit puberty were less affected.
How this fits with other research
Westendorp et al. (2014) tracked children with learning disorders for four years. By age 11 these children moved like kids three years younger. Nichele’s snapshot shows the same wide gap in a general school sample.
Chiviacowsky et al. (2013) found that children with language impairment also score low on motor tests. Nichele widens the lens: you do not need a diagnosis—poor strength and extra weight are enough to flag risk.
Sáez-Suanes et al. (2023) later set age-based strength cut-offs to spot overweight teens and adults with intellectual disability. Their cut-offs echo Nichele’s link between weak jumps and higher BMI, showing the rule holds across ages and diagnoses.
Why it matters
You can spot coordination risk without fancy tests. Measure a child’s sit-and-reach, vertical jump, and BMI. If two of three scores are poor, add extra motor play and strength games to the day. Target flexibility and explosive drills before the gap widens.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aims of this cross-sectional study were to examine the developmental characteristics (biological maturation and body size) associated with gross motor coordination problems in 5193 Peruvian children (2787 girls) aged 6-14 years from different geographical locations, and to investigate how the probability that children suffer with gross motor coordination problems varies with physical fitness. Children with gross motor coordination problems were more likely to have lower flexibility and explosive strength levels, having adjusted for age, sex, maturation and study site. Older children were more likely to suffer from gross motor coordination problems, as were those with greater body mass index. However, more mature children were less likely to have gross motor coordination problems, although children who live at sea level or at high altitude were more likely to suffer from gross motor coordination problems than children living in the jungle. Our results provide evidence that children and adolescents with lower physical fitness are more likely to have gross motor coordination difficulties. The identification of youths with gross motor coordination problems and providing them with effective intervention programs is an important priority in order to overcome such developmental problems, and help to improve their general health status.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.01.003