Aspects of early childhood fundamental movement skills in longitudinal pathways to physical activity and health-related fitness
Year of publication
2024
Authors
Kasanen, Maria
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the longitudinal relationships from early childhood fundamental movement skills (FMS) to various outcomes, including accelerometer-based time spent in different physical activity (PA) intensities, body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and muscular fitness (MF). The FMS are categorized into locomotor skills (LMS) and object control skills (OCS) and are assessed using the process-oriented Test of Gross Motor Development third edition (TGMD-3) and the product-oriented Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder (KTK). The study focuses on children aged 3-8 years living in Finland, with a follow-up period ranging from 3 to 6 years. The results of this dissertation are based on the findings of three sub-studies. Analyses were conducted using two-level regression analysis, along with its extensions including the cross-lagged model and the Cholesky decomposition approach. The findings indicate that higher process-oriented LMS scores, not OCS scores, significantly predict greater engagement in moderate-to-vigorous PA and less sedentary behavior over time. Furthermore, process-oriented LMS were found to be more prominent predictors of later CRF and MF than OCS, while product-oriented LMS overshadowed the predictive power for these fitness components. Additionally, no significant longitudinal relationship was found between BMI and process-oriented FMS or their skill domains. These comprehensive analysis reveals that the longitudinal relationships from FMS to PA intensities and investigated health outcomes are not straightforward. The findings suggest that LMS may be a more prominent predictor than OCS, and that the physical capacity characteristics included in the product-oriented LMS may overshadow the effects of process-oriented methods. However, the overall contribution of FMS may remain relatively minor when most of the variance in outcomes remains unexplained.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
University of Jyväskylä
Kasanen Maria
Publication type
Publication format
Monograph
Audience
Scientific
MINEDU's publication type classification code
G5 Doctoral dissertation (articles)
Publication channel information
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
Yes
Open access of publication channel
Fully open publication channel
Self-archived
No
Other information
Fields of science
Sport and fitness sciences
Publication country
Finland
Internationality of the publisher
Domestic
Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes