EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK AEROBIC TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE COGNITIVE AND MOTOR ABILITIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Borko Katanić, Aleksandra Aleksić Veljković, Nenad Stojiljković, Slađana Stanković, Petar Mitić

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPES211102023K
First page
223
Last page
232

Abstract


The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine the effects of aerobic training on the cognitive and motor abilities of preschool children. The sample of participants included 47 preschool children aged five to seven. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental (n=25, 6.35±0.32yrs) and the control group (n=22, 5.90±0.27yrs). The experimental group took part in aerobic training for children over a 12-week period at a rate of three training sessions per week, 30min each. To evaluate the children’s cognitive abilities, the school maturity test was used, or more precisely, three of its subtests: visual memory, stacking cubes, and codes. To evaluate their motor abilities, the BOT-2 (Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency) battery of tests was used, that is, its subtests: fine motor integration, manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, and balance. The children completed a total of 77 tasks, of which 48 were cognitive and 29 motor, both at the initial and the final measurement. Finally, the paper analyzes a total of 10 variables, four cognitive and six motor, which represent the total standardized values based on gender and age for each of the abilities. No significant effect of the training was determined for any of the cognitive abilities variables. The results indicate that aerobic training had significant effects on the following motor variables: fine motor skills (p=.020), bilateral coordination (p=.000), motor balance (p=.001), and body coordination (p=.000). A significant effect was determined for all four variables. We can conclude that aerobic training can represent an excellent means for the psycho-physical development of preschool children.


Keywords

aerobic exercise, motor abilities, cognition, preschoolers, BOT-2

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPES211102023K

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