A longitudinal study of gross motor coordination and weight status in children

Objective: This longitudinal study investigated the interrelationship between children's weight status and level of gross motor coordination over time, taking baseline physical activity (PA) into account as a possible mediator. Methods: Baseline measurements were collected in 2517 children (5-13 years, 52.8% boys), including (1) body height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) z-scores, (2) gross motor coordination using the Korperkoordinationstest fur Kinder (KTK), (3) total PA estimated by a questionnaire. At follow-up, 754 participants (7-13 years, 50.8% boys) underwent anthropometric and KTK assessments again. Two hypothesized partial mediation models (i.e., KTK PA BMI z-score) were examined by multiple linear mixed models. Results: A lower performance on the KTK at baseline significantly predicted an increase in BMI z-score (B=-0.003, P=0.027). Conversely, a higher baseline BMI z-score also predicted a decrease in KTK performance (B=-1.792, P