ArticleBMC pediatrics2022
Association between executive functions and gross motor skills in overweight/obese and eutrophic preschoolers: cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gray matter volume alterations in subjects with overweight and obesity: Evidence from a voxel-based meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Early Childhood Movement- and Arts-Based Experiences and Executive Functions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Relationship Between Executive Function and Motor Skills in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Associations Between Body Mass Index, Movement Behaviors, Motor Skills, Inhibition and Visuospatial Working Memory in Preschool Children: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on WHO References.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sex-specific BMI, 24-hour movement behaviors, motor skills, and executive functions in Tunisian preschool children: an observational cross-sectional study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Urban-rural differences in BMI status, 24-hour movement guideline compliance, executive functions, and motor skills in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Executive Function Response to Moderate-to-High-Intensity Rope Skipping in Overweight Adolescents Aged 12-14: A Preliminary Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Executive function skills predict motor competence in preschool children.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Reasons and promotion strategies of physical activity constraints in obese/overweight children and adolescents.Sports medicine and health science · 2024Review
- Poor Motor Competence Affects Functional Capacities and Healthcare in Children and Adolescents with Obesity.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Review
- The importance of oriented physical activity in the first 48 months: differences in motor skills.BMC pediatrics · 2023Article
- A school-family blended multi-component physical activity program for Fundamental Motor Skills Promotion Program for Obese Children (FMSPPOC): protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Relationships between physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and body mass index in preschool children.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPreschool age (3-5 years old) is a crucial period for children to acquire gross motor skills and develop executive functions (EFs). However, the association between the qualitative gross motor skills and EFs remains unknown in preschoolers, especially among overweight and obese children.
methodsThis was a cross-sectional, exploratory, and quantitative study carried out on 49 preschool children, divided into two subgroups according to their body mass index (overweight/obese: 24; eutrophic [normal weight]: 25). The mean age was 4.59 years. More than half of the sample were boys (55%) and most of the mothers had completed high school (67%) and were class C socioeconomic level (63%). Gross motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, while EFs were evaluated using Semantic verbal fluency (SVF), Tower of Hanoi (TH), Day/Night Stroop, and Delayed Gratification tests. Multiple linear regression models adjusted for sex, age, maternal education, socioeconomic status, quality of the home environment, and quality of the school environment using the stepwise method were executed, considering the cognitive tasks as independent variables and gross motor skills as dependent variable.
resultsThe overweight/obese preschoolers showed worse locomotor skills than their eutrophic peers and below average gross motor quotient (GMQ). Overweight/obese girls performed worse in OC skills than boys with excess weight. SVF (number of errors) and TH (rule breaks) explained 57.8% of the variance in object control (OC) skills and 40.5% of the variance in GMQ (p < .05) in the overweight/obese children. Surprisingly, there was no significant association between any of the EF tasks and gross motor skills in the eutrophic children.
conclusionA relationship between EF tasks (number of errors in SVF and rule breaks in TH) and gross motor skills (OC and GMQ) was demonstrated in the overweight/obese preschoolers, indicating that worse cognitive flexibility, working memory, planning, and problem solving are associated with worse gross motor skills in this population when compared to eutrophic children.
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