Rural–urban differences in gross motor coordination and body mass index among Indonesian children aged 7–9 Years
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v82.119260Keywords:
Gross motor coordination, BMI, rural–urban, KTK3+, Indonesian children, physical educationAbstract
Introduction: Gross motor coordination is fundamental to children's physical development and is influenced by body mass index and residential context. However, rural–urban differences in the GMC–BMI relationship remain understudied in Indonesian children.
Methodology: A total of 396 children aged 7–9 years from West Sumatra, Indonesia participated in this cross-sectional study. BMI was classified using WHO 2007 standards. GMC was assessed via the KTK3+ battery comprising balance beam, jumping sideways, moving sideways, and eye-hand coordination. MANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni tests and location-specific linear discriminant analyses were conducted.
Results: Rural children significantly outperformed urban peers on BB (F = 7.474; p = .007; ηp² = .019), JS (F = 26.244; p < .001; ηp² = .064), and EHC (F = 8.508; p = .004; ηp² = .022), with the rural advantage widening with age (Age × Location for EHC: ηp² = .093). MS showed no significant location effect (p = .926). Location-specific LDA revealed that BB was the primary BMI discriminator in rural children (r = .910), while JS dominated in urban children (r = .859). Critically, 86% of children were underweight or severely underweight, with urban children exhibiting a paradoxically higher severe underweight rate (75.0%) than rural peers (66.3%).
Conclusions: Rural Indonesian children demonstrated superior GMC trajectories across middle childhood. The context-dependent BMI–GMC relationship and the dual burden of undernutrition across both settings demand integrated, location-sensitive physical education and nutritional interventions.
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