Assessment of Body Coordination, Strength and Agility Using Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) in Overweight and Obese Children Aged 7-12 Years

Background - Childhood obesity is a major health problem in many developing countries, including India. As a result, overweight and obese children achieve fewer opportunities to develop proficient motor skills. Early assessment should be done to evaluate children having poor coordination problem and early intervention should be given to avoid risk of any neuromotor disturbances later. This study is done to find out the level of motor proficiency in terms of Body coordination, strength and agility in overweight and obese school going children aged 7-12 years using BOT-2 test.

Method: A cross sectional analytical study was conducted using BOT-2 long form. Purposive sampling of 54 overweight and obese children (32 males and 22 females) aged 7-12 years who met the inclusion criteria were taken for the study and assessed under 2 motor area composite of BOT -2. The study was conducted after the ethical clearance obtained by the institutional ethical committee. Each task was explained verbally and demonstrated to each student, to ensure proper understanding of the task.

Results: 54 children were assessed (59.2% males and 40.8% females) and standard score of the BOT -2 test was calculated which signifies the level of proficiency. For Body coordination component mean standard score of 45.07 and for strength and agility component it was 37.79.

Conclusion: This study concludes that according to Descriptive Category of BOT -2 test in Body coordination 33%, in Strength and agility 74% of overweight and obese children aged 7-12 years has motor deficits.