Motor skills may predict success in school
Poor motor function in childhood may be an important factor in predicting poor academic achievement in adolescence.
In a study published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers wrote that poor motor function may be an underlying factor in obesity and physical inactivity, both of which contribute to underachievement in school.
Scientists studied 8,061 Finnish children in a database that included weight, height, physical activity, parent-reported motor function at age 8 and academic achievement at 16.
Poor motor function, physical inactivity and obesity, the researchers found, contribute independently and in complex interrelationships to academic underachievement. Poor motor function, in other words, may set a child on the developmental track to poor grades.
The authors acknowledged that their data on motor function and physical activity relied on self-reports, which are not always reliable.
According to the lead author, Marko T Kantomaa, a researcher at the LIKES Research Center for Sport and Health Sciences in Finland, parents can easily see if a child is having problems with catching a ball, tying shoelaces or using a pencil — all signs of problems with motor function.
"If a child is having problems, things can be done," he said. "Being physically active is the main thing — this in itself can enhance motor function."
Poor motor function in childhood may be an important factor in predicting poor academic achievement in adolescence.
In a study published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers wrote that poor motor function may be an underlying factor in obesity and physical inactivity, both of which contribute to underachievement in school.
Scientists studied 8,061 Finnish children in a database that included weight, height, physical activity, parent-reported motor function at age 8 and academic achievement at 16.
Poor motor function, physical inactivity and obesity, the researchers found, contribute independently and in complex interrelationships to academic underachievement. Poor motor function, in other words, may set a child on the developmental track to poor grades.
The authors acknowledged that their data on motor function and physical activity relied on self-reports, which are not always reliable.
According to the lead author, Marko T Kantomaa, a researcher at the LIKES Research Center for Sport and Health Sciences in Finland, parents can easily see if a child is having problems with catching a ball, tying shoelaces or using a pencil — all signs of problems with motor function.
"If a child is having problems, things can be done," he said. "Being physically active is the main thing — this in itself can enhance motor function."