Relationship between habitual physical activity and gross motor skills is multifaceted in 5- to 8-year-old children

Adequate motor skills are essential for children participating in age-related physical activities, and gross motor skills may play an important role for maintaining sufficient level of physical activity (PA) during life course. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gross motor skills and PA in children when PA was analyzed by both metabolic- and neuromuscular-based methods. Gross motor skills (KTK – Korperkoordinationstest fur Kinder and APM inventory – manipulative skill test) of 84 children aged 5–8 years (53 preschoolers, 28 girls; 31 primary schoolers, 18 girls) were measured, and accelerometer-derived PA was analyzed using in parallel metabolic counts and neuromuscular impact methods. The gross motor skills were associated with moderate-to-high neuromuscular impacts, PA of vigorous metabolic intensity, and mean level of PA in primary school girls (0.5 < r < 0.7, P < 0.05), and with high impacts in preschool girls (0.3 < r < 0.5, P < 0.05). In preschool boys, moderate impacts, light-to-vigorous PA, and mean level of PA were associated with gross motor skills (0.4 < r < 0.7, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the result emphasizes an important relationship between gross motor skills and PA stressing both metabolic and neuromuscular systems in children. Furthermore, PA highly stressing neuromuscular system interacts with gross motor proficiency in girls especially.