Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a structured coordinative exercise intervention based on motor skill elements on physical fitness (PF), motor competence (MC) and inhibitory control (IC) in preschool children. A total of 41 kindergarten children (27 boys and 17 girls) aged between 5 and 6 years participated and were divided into exercise (EG; n = 18) and control (CG; n = 23) groups. The exercise group participated in a structured coordinative exercise programme focusing on locomotor and balance skills such as side-stepping, galloping, jumping and running for 30 min, 2 days a week for 8 weeks. The control group followed the normal curriculum. Children participated in measurements before and after 8 weeks, respectively; motor competence was assessed using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3+) test battery, which includes eye-hand coordination and other coordinative skills. Physical fitness was measured by balance, agility and vertical jump tests. Inhibitory control was assessed using the Go/NoGo test in the Early Years Toolbox. As a result of the two-factor analysis of variance for mixed measures to determine whether being in the exercising group had a significant effect on the test scores, group by time interaction effect showed that the increase in the scores of the exercise group was significantly higher than that of the control group in the parameters of static balance, KTK sideways jump and KTK eye-hand coordination [respectively: F(1−39) = 6.993, p = 0.012; 6.443, p = 0.015; 8.180, p = 0.007). The results show that structured coordinative exercises improve PF and MC but have no significant effect on IC. This study targets the development of motor and cognitive skills considered to be important in preschool children and is one of the few studies to evaluate these parameters simultaneously. It also provides a comprehensive perspective on interventions aimed to positively affect health and development in early childhood.

Trial Registration: NCT06631248. Registered on October 07, 2024.

Details

Title
The effects of structured coordinative exercise protocol on physical fitness, motor competence and inhibitory control in preschool children
Author
Şendil, Ali Mert 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Canlı, Umut 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; sheeha, Bodor Bin 2 ; Alkhamees, Nouf H. 2 ; Batrakoulis, Alexios 3 ; Al-Mhanna, Sameer Badri 4 

1  Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Tekirdağ, Turkey (GRID:grid.412006.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 0369 8053) 
2  Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (GRID:grid.449346.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 0501 7602) 
3  University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, Trikala, Greece (GRID:grid.410558.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0035 6670) 
4  Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, Saveetha University, Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, India (GRID:grid.412431.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 0444 045X); Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia (GRID:grid.11875.3a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 3534) 
Pages
28462
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79811-3
ProQuest document ID
3129873670
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.