Brian W. Timmons

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the gross motor skills of children with a chronic physical illness with those of their healthy peers. Methods : Data for children with a chronic physical illness come from the Multimorbidity in Children and Youth Across the Life Course study, and data from children without a physical illness come from the Health Outcomes and Physical Activity in Preschoolers study. Multimorbidity in Children and Youth Across the Life Course and Health Outcomes and Physical Activity in Preschoolers included children ages 3–5 years and administered the Peabody Development Motor Scales-second edition. Participants were sex and age matched (20 male and 15 female pairs; M age = 54.03 [9.5] mo). Results : Gross motor skills scores were “below average” for 47% of children with a physical illness compared with 9% of children without a physical illness ( P = .003). Matched-paired t tests detected significant differences in total gross motor scores ( d z = −0.35), locomotor ( d z = −0.31), and object control ( d z = −0.39) scores, with healthy children exhibiting better motor skills, and no significant difference in stationary scores ( d z = −0.19). Conclusions : This skill gap may increase burden on children with physical illness and future research should assess gross motor skills longitudinally to establish whether the gap widens with age.

Purpose : Concussion management is shifting away from a rest-is-best approach, as data now suggest that exercise-is-medicine for this mild brain injury. Despite this, we have limited data on habitual physical activity following concussion. Therefore, our objective was to quantify accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary time in children with concussion (within the first month of injury) and healthy controls. We hypothesized that children with concussion would be less active than their healthy peers. Methods : We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected accelerometer data. Our sample included children with concussion (n = 60, 31 females) and historical controls (n = 60) matched for age, sex, and season of accelerometer wear. Results : Children with concussion were significantly more sedentary than controls (mean difference [MD], 38.3 min/d, P = .006), and spent less time performing light physical activity (MD, −19.5 min/d, P = .008), moderate physical activity (MD, −9.8 min/d, P < .001), and vigorous physical activity (MD, −12.0 min/d, P < .001); these differences were observed from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Sex-specific analyses identified that girls with concussion were less active and more sedentary than both boys with concussion ( P = .010) and healthy girls ( P < .010). Conclusion : There is an activity deficit observed within the first month of pediatric concussion. Physical activity guidelines should address this while considering sex effects.

Objectives Reliable measurements of health‐related fitness—cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility—are imperative for understanding and tracking health‐related fitness from the preschool age. This study aimed to examine the test–retest reliability of field‐based (i.e., sit and reach [standard and back‐saver], standing long jump, grip strength); and laboratory‐based (i.e., Bruce Protocol Treadmill Test, Wingate Anaerobic Test) assessments of health‐related fitness in preschool aged children (4–5 years). Methods Forty‐two typically developing children participated in both assessment time points separated by 2–3 weeks. All fitness assessments were administered individually and repeated in the same order by the same assessor. Heteroscedasticity was examined for each parameter. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to assess test–retest reliability. Results All parameters were homoscedastic. Test–retest reliability for the field‐based tests and Bruce Protocol Treadmill Test parameters were moderate to good. Test–retest reliability for the Wingate Test parameters were good to excellent for maximum pedal rate, peak power, and peak power/kg; mean power and fatigue measured at 10 and 30 s demonstrated moderate to excellent test–retest reliability. Conclusion The standard sit and reach, grip strength, and short‐term muscle power from the Wingate test are reliable assessments of health‐related fitness in preschool‐aged children.