2016 Volume 62 Issue Suppl.1 Pages 104-108
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between birth month, physical size, motor ability, and physical activity evaluated by kindergarten teachers, of young Japanese children by using structural equation modeling.
Methods: We collected the data from 329 children (160 four-year-old children: 76 male and 84 female, and 169 five-year-old children: 85 male and 84 female). Ten teachers in charge of children’s classes in the kindergarten were administered questionnaires, and the children’s physical size, motor ability, and children’s physical activity, as determined by kindergarten teachers, were investigated. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the above-mentioned variables in each grade.
Results: The results showed significant goodness of fit in both 4- and 5-year-old children. Specifically, the model in 4-year-old children showed a significant scale, a good fit to the model according to the approximate fit indices (Goodness of Fit Index [GFI]=0.938, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index [AGFI]=0.894, Comparative Fit Index [CFI]=0.967, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA]=0.043). The model in 5-year-old children showed a significant scale and a good fit to the model according to the approximate fit indices (Goodness of Fit Index [GFI]=0.938, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index [AGFI]=0.894, Comparative Fit Index [CFI]=0.936, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA]=0.043). In both 4- and 5-year-old children, birth month influenced physical activity evaluated by kindergarten teachers, mediating physical size and motor ability.
Conclusions: We concluded that the birth months influenced children’s physical activity evaluated by kindergarten teachers through physical size and motor ability.
