Abstract des Autors

The purpose of the present study was to examine the possible relationships between motor ability, physical activity and somatic growth in a sample of 6-year-old Estonian boys and girls. Anthropometric measurements were taken according to the O-scale physique assessment system. The following motor ability tests were used from the Eurofit test battery: Flamingo balance (30 s), handgrip strength, sit and reach, plate tapping, standing broad jump, sit-ups, bent arm hang and 10x5 m shuttle run. A 3-min endurance shuttle run was also used. Physical activity was registered using the questionnaire of Harro. In boys, body height and mass as well as waist girth and humerus and femur breadths were significantly higher in comparison with girls. All skinfold thicknesses were thicker (p<0.05) in girls. Handgrip strength, standing broad jump and endurance shuttle run test results were better (p<0.05) in boys. Flamingo balance results were better in girls, and girls were more active in indoor tasks. There were only a few significant correlations between anthropometry and motor ability tests using second-order partial correlations when age, height and mass were statistically removed. As a rule, only one or two physical activity components significantly influenced motor ability tests results. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that girths predominated more in models different than skinfolds or breadths. The results of handgrip strength were more dependent on the anthropometry than other motor ability tests (R**2=31.54 in boys and R**2=26.89 in girls). Results indicate that motor ability does not depend on the amount of physical activity and anthropometric variables in 6-year-old boys and girls. Verf.-Referat