title: Participation in Physical Activity, Fitness, and Risk for Obesity in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Cross-cultural Study.
abstract: Decreased physical activity has been linked to poor fitness and obesity, resulting in increased risk for health concerns. The objective is to study the relationships between children's motor coordination and their physical activity, sedentary behaviour, fitness and weight status in a cross-cultural study in the United States and Israel. Participants included 118 children 6-11 years of age: 53 children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and 65 typical children. The US sample included 31 DCD children and 44 typical children. The Israeli sample included 22 DCD children and 21 typical children. Participants were assessed on Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2, strength test of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2 and Six-minute Walk Test and wore an accelerometer. Parents completed physical activity questionnaires and demographic information. Body mass index was calculated based on height and weight. Testing took place in two sessions. Findings are that in both Israel and the United States, children with DCD demonstrated significantly reduced physical activity, increased sedentary behaviour, poorer fitness and increased overweight compared with typical children. No significant differences were found for country. With relevance to clinical practice, fitness and obesity are major concerns for children with DCD in both countries. Inclusion of occupational therapy in health promotion for this population is critical. Additional studies with testers blind to group, larger samples and other countries are recommended.
authors.affiliation: USC Mrs T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cermak
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Health and Medical Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.affiliation: Alyn Hospital Pediatric & Adolescent Rehabilitation Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinhart
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.|Alyn Hospital Pediatric & Adolescent Rehabilitation Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raz-Silbiger
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: DCD; occupational therapy; overweight; sedentary behaviour