Foot arches and physical fitness of 5-year-old children

WASILUK, Agnieszka, SACZUK, Jerzy, GÓRNIAK, Krystyna & LICHOTA, Małgorzata. Foot arches and physical fitness of 5-year-old children. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;13(3):140-146. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.13.03.020 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/41659 https://zenodo.org/record/7576954 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2023; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 29.12.2022. Revised: 17.01.2023. Accepted: 26.01.2023. Foot arches and physical fitness of 5-year-old children Agnieszka Wasiluk1, Jerzy Saczuk1, Krystyna Górniak1, Małgorzata Lichota1, 1 Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education and Health in Biała Podlaska, Poland Agnieszka Wasiluk agnieszka.wasiluk@awf.edu.pl https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9781-812 Jerzy Saczuk jerzy.saczuk@awf.edu.pl https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7090-8434 Krystyna Górniak krystyna.gorniak@awf.edu.pl https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3103-9448 Małgorzata Lichota malgorzata.lichota@awf.edu.pl https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4848-2179 Abstract Introduction Preschool age is a period of further changes in physical development, improvement of motor skills, and strengthening of the child's movement apparatus. At that time, especially between the ages of 4 and 7, morpho-functional changes in the feet are observed, leading to their longitudinal and transverse arches. The aim of the research was to try to assess the relationship between the curvature of the feet and the level of fitness and coordination abilities of children under the age of 5. Material and methods 414 children aged 5 participated in the study, including 178 girls and 236 boys. Podoscopic examination made it possible to assess the longitudinal arch of the feet using the Clarke's angle. The level of the child's motor development was characterized on the basis of the results of the tests of the Physical Fitness Test for Sekita's Preschoolers, and the Great Motility Test TGMD II was used to assess the coordination abilities. The results were statistically processed. Differences between the selected groups were estimated with the Student's t-test for independent groups. Results Based on our own research, it was found that preschoolers with flat feet are characterized by significantly lower body height and a higher BMI. On the other hand, such differences were not noted in body weight. On the other hand, the analysis of fitness abilities and motor predispositions proved the occurrence of small and insignificant differences between the described syndromes. Conclusion Therefore, it can be assumed that at this stage of ontogenesis, the level of the arched feet does not have a significant effect on the motor skills of the studied children. Keywords: arching of feet, physical fitness, preschooler