The relationship between fundamental motor skills and physical fitness in preschoolers: a short-term longitudinal study

PURPOSE: Physical fitness and fundamental motor skills are two important aspects for the healthy development of preschoolers. Despite the growing interest in clarifying their relationship, the scarcity of longitudinal studies prevents us from understanding causality. METHOD: This study employed a cross-lagged model with two time points to investigate the bidirectional relationship between these two aspects. A total of 174 preschoolers (54.0% girls) from 3 to 6 years old (M = 3.96 ± 0.47) were surveyed, they were recruited by convenience from two kindergartens in Beijing, China, and their physical fitness (via CNPFDSM-EC) and fundamental motor skills (via TGMD-3) were tracked over a period of 6 months. RESULTS: The findings revealed a bidirectional predictive effect. The predictive strength of flexibility was found to be lower than other physical fitness aspects, while locomotor skills demonstrated a higher predictive strength than object control skills. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that physical fitness and fundamental motor skills mutually enhance each other in young children, and both should be emphasized in preschool sports education.