Conventional wisdom often portrays obesity as laziness or as the choice to be inactive, but recent studies suggest that obesity might stem from the lack of motor skill competence. Specifically, Stodden and colleagues suggest that motor skill ability plays a considerable role in supporting physical activity behavior.
In much of the research reviewed by the authors, investigators focused primarily of measuring physical activity in children without giving consideration to the fact that learning to move is a required skill which underlies physical activity. During early childhood, children begin to establish a set of motor skills known as fundamental motor skills, which lay the foundation for future movement and physical activity. However, without the establishment of these prerequisite skills, children will then be subjected to limited opportunities for participation in physical activities later in their lives. Specifically, if a child cannot run, jump, or throw competently, then future physical activity task will appear difficult because they will lack the required prerequisite skills.
The authors also suggest a role between physical activity and perceived motor skill competence. As children enter middle childhood (9-11 years of age), they reach a level of cognitive development which allows them to make accurate comparisons between themselves and their peers. As a result, a strong relationship forms between a child’s perceived motor skill competence and their actual motor skill competence. To put it simply, if a child views them self as less skilled than their peers, then their actual motor skill competence will be less than their peers and they will therefore see many task as more complicated and challenging. It is the view of the authors that if a child demonstrates lower perceived motor skill competence then he or she will opt out of physical activity. According to the authors, children opt out of physical activity because they see themselves as less competent than their peers, they don’t want to publicly humiliate themselves by displaying low motor skill competence, and they have a limited motor range, which causes them to be less motivated to participate in activities that require high competence levels. Over time this will result in high levels of physical inactivity and will ultimately put these individuals at risk for being obese throughout their life.
Lastly, authors suggest that the studies they’ve reviewed have failed to give and appropriate measurement of motor skill competence. In the studies reviewed by the authors, motor competence was evaluated by considering a child’s ability in individual skills. If you focus on assessing the number of times a child is able to perform a skill—for example, the number of hits a child can get from throwing at a target—instead of focusing on how the child performs the skill, then the score given will have no representation of the child’s motor development or their ability to apply that movement skill to physical activity. In order to properly measure motor skill competence, researchers must recognize the process oriented nature of motor skill development. Particularly, researchers must take into account the various stages of motor skill development and the movement patterns that lie within each stage. Therefore, the authors state that by using proper motor skill competence measures with proper physical activity assessments, researchers will be able to recognize the link between motor skill competence and physical activity.
It is the belief of the authors that more research will show a strong link between motor skill competence and physical activity.
Stodden, D. F., Goodway, J. D., Langendorfer, S. J., Roberton, M. A., Rudisill, M. E., Garcia, C., & Garcia, L. E. (2008). A developmental perspective on the role of motor skill competence in physical activity: an emergent relationship. Quest, 60, 290-306.
