Mirela Sunda1, Magdalena Brkic1, Iva Blazevic2
1University of Osijek, Faculty of Kinesiology, Osijek, Croatia
2University of Pula, Faculty of Educational Science, Pula, Croatia
Association Between Body Morphology and Motor and Functional Abilities in Preschool Children
Sport Mont 2025, 23(3), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/smj.251003
Abstract
The main aim of this study was to determine the association between morphological characteristics and the motor and functional abilities of preschool children. An additional objective was to examine whether dif- ferences exist in morphological characteristics, motor, and functional abilities between girls and boys. The study included 120 children (55 girls and 65 boys) aged 4 to 6 years (4.88±0.86), all enrolled in the regular preschool education system of the Republic of Croatia. The assessment of morphological characteristics and motor and functional abilities was carried out using the PREFIT test battery. Morphological variables in- cluded: body height, body mass, body mass index, and waist circumference. Motor abilities were measured using the following tests: handgrip, standing long jump, one-leg stance, and 4x10 meter run, and functional abilites with 20-meter shuttle run test. Significant positive correlations were found between body height and handgrip strength (right hand: r=0.68; left hand: r=0.69), as well as standing long jump (r=0.56), while height correlated negatively with the 4×10 m run (r=–0.60). Body mass showed similar associations, posi- tively with handgrip strength (right: r=0.61; left: r=0.64) and standing long jump (r=0.47), and negatively with the 4×10 m run (r=–0.42). Waist circumference was positively correlated with handgrip strength (right: r=0.32; left: r= 0.34) and standing long jump (r=0.31), and negatively with the 4x10 m run (r=–0.19). No dif- ferences were found between gender. The results of this research highlight the importance of monitoring the physical and motor development of preschool children in order to foster healthy life habits and improve the level of physical literacy and physical activity from the earliest age.
Keywords
physical activity, physical literacy, physical fitness, kindergarden, health
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