- Title
- Australian children lack the basic movement skills to be active and healthy
- Creator
- Barnett, L. M.; Hardy, L. L.; Lubans, D. R.; Cliff, D. P.; Okley, A. D.; Hills, A. P.; Morgan, P. J.
- Relation
- Health Promotion Journal of Australia Vol. 24, Issue 2, p. 82-84
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/HE12920
- Publisher
- CSIRO
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- Just as children need to be taught their ABCs to read and write, they also need to be taught fundamental movement skills (FMS), such as running, jumping, throwing and kicking, to provide the strongest foundation for a physically active lifestyle. Children who are proficient at FMS are more likely to be physically active and have adequate cardiorespiratory fitness, and are less likely to be overweight or obese compared with children who are not proficient. In addition, FMS-proficient children are more likely to become adolescents who are more active and with higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels. So what does FMS‘proficient’ mean? There are two primary methods to assess children’s motor skills: ‘product’ or ‘process’ oriented. Product assessments measure, for example, how fast a child can run, whereas process assessments involve the use of observational criteria to determine whether the child moves their body to run efficiently, or in a ‘proficient’ manner. For example, a process assessment of running may look for components such as the whether the arms move in opposition to the legs and with the elbows bent; if there is a brief period where both feet are off the ground; and whether the non-support leg bends approximately 90°. Regrettably, preschools and schools are limiting children’s opportunities to learn and develop proficiency in FMS. Ideally, children should develop FMS proficiency during early childhood and primary school through a range of opportunities, including unstructured active play, interactions with parents, siblings and caregivers, quality physical education, school sport and community-based programs. Yet, many children are entering secondary school lacking proficiency in many FMS. Approximately two-thirds of Year 6 children in NSW are not proficient at locomotor skills (e.g. running, jumping and hopping) and two-thirds of girls and one-quarter of boys have low object control skill proficiency (e.g. ball-handling skills, such as throwing and kicking). With 85% of Australian adolescents not meeting the National Physical Activity Recommendations of at least 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, insufficient physical activity (PA) among youth is a global health issue. Furthermore, one-quarter are either overweight or obese and one-third do not have adequate cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, urgent action is needed to ensure all Australian children are provided with the opportunity to develop competence and confidence in FMS that will help them be active, fit and of a healthy weight.
- Subject
- Australian children; basic movement skills; fundamental movement skills; obesity; children's health
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1318321
- Identifier
- uon:23596
- Identifier
- ISSN:1036-1073
- Language
- eng
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