Physical literacy in children: Does movement competency predict health and participation in activity

Many of today’s health problems are related to a lack of movement or can be treated by increased movement. The ability to move was once considered a standard part of any Child’s daily life and all children had a sound physical literacy that progressed into adulthood. However with increasing technology, safety issues, and environmental restrictions many children no longer grow up with a movement based approach to fun and daily activity. The human body was designed to move and science has shown the benefits of movement and exercise for a range of health related conditions. In order to provide our children with these basic foundations of movement we must first understand the movement competencies required to develop this physical literacy. The aim of this research was firstly to identify the current physical literacy of these movement competencies in primary school children and determine inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in the screening tools. Screening of nearly 1000 local children was conducted in conjunction with the schools according to an approved human ethics research program. Performance of all seven movement competencies (squat, lunge, push, pull, hinge, brace, rotate) as well as height, weight and activity levels was recorded. Results informed scores for each movement competency, with stratification of results between schools and age groups as well as gender.Title of presentation listed as "Physical literacy in children: Does movement competency predict health and participation in activity " in Programme but in fulltext presentation title is "Physical Literacy in Children: Movement Compentency Failure and Implications