From physical health to general well-being, regular physical activity pays off big for kids. And active kids are more likely to become active adults, leading to better health in the long run. Clearly, it’s important to get kids moving. But what determines whether kids take to physical activity? Do their movement skills make a difference in how active they are?
These authors studied the movement skills of over 1,800 high school students in Australia. About half of the students were in eighth grade (13 years old); half were in tenth grade (15 years old). The students were asked to describe their physical activity in a normal school week. From this, the authors determined how many minutes per week students did vigorous physical activity. Students were also scored on six basic movement skills. These were running, jumping, catching, throwing (overhand), striking (with the front of the hand), and kicking.
Students who had basic movement skills spent more time in organized physical activities, such as basketball, tennis, and soccer. The relationship between skills and physical activity was especially important for girls. Improving girls’ skills just a little might encourage them to do 50 more minutes of physical activity a week. For boys, the relationship was not as strong. Because it’s more socially acceptable for boys to be in sports, skills may not be as important to whether or not they participate.
Movement skills were not related to “nonorganized” physical activities, such as walking, cycling for fun, and pick-up basketball. The authors think that the skills measured in this study may be less important to these kinds of activities.
From this study, it seems that movement skills make a difference, however slight, in whether teens are physically active. It’s best to start working on these skills early, in preschool or early elementary. The authors conclude that improved movement skills could have even greater payoffs for girls than for boys. Mastering movement skills early on could lead to a lifetime of healthy habits.