title: Motor Competence and its Effect on Positive Developmental Trajectories of Health.
abstract: In 2008, Stodden and colleagues took a unique developmental approach toward addressing the potential role of motor competence in promoting positive or negative trajectories of physical activity, health-related fitness, and weight status. The conceptual model proposed synergistic relationships among physical activity, motor competence, perceived motor competence, health-related physical fitness, and obesity with associations hypothesized to strengthen over time. At the time the model was proposed, limited evidence was available to support or refute the model hypotheses. Over the past 6 years, the number of investigations exploring these relationships has increased significantly. Thus, it is an appropriate time to examine published data that directly or indirectly relate to specific pathways noted in the conceptual model. Evidence indicates that motor competence is positively associated with perceived competence and multiple aspects of health (i.e., physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and a healthy weight status). However, questions related to the increased strength of associations across time and antecedent/consequent mechanisms remain. An individual's physical and psychological development is a complex and multifaceted process that synergistically evolves across time. Understanding the most salient factors that influence health and well-being and how relationships among these factors change across time is a critical need for future research in this area. This knowledge could aid in addressing the declining levels of physical activity and fitness along with the increasing rates of obesity across childhood and adolescence.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 401 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2214, USA. lerobin@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Leah E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Athletic Training, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Stodden
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.affiliation: Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD) and Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vitor P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Population Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer de Melgaço, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, and CIDESD, Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luis Paulo
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.|Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Hondt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology