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Background: Childhood is an important transitional period for the development of healthy physical activity (PA) behaviours, so it is important to understand its impact on a healthy lifestyle. Aim: This study aimed to determine the influences of sex, socioeconomic status (SES) and body composition (BC) on the relationships between PA, motor skills, motor- and health-related physical fitness in 5–8-year-olds. Setting: Participants were a subsample consisting of 299 children (150 boys, 149 girls, mean age 6.83 ± 0.96 years) from the Exercise, Arterial Modulation and Nutrition in Youth South Africa study (ExAMIN Youth SA). Methods: Anthropometric measures, health-related physical fitness (HRPF), motor-related physical fitness (MRPF), objectively measured PA and demographic information were determined. Results: Only 66% achieved the recommended 60 min of daily moderate vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with 19% classified as having unhealthy body composition (11% overweight, 8% obese). Fat-free mass and SES revealed small-to-moderate influences on the relationship between MVPA, standing broad jump (SBJ; r = 0.32), predicted VO2max (r = 0.28) and beep levels (r = 0.22). For MRPF, the quality of running (r = 0.12) and balancing were associated with MVPA. Adjusting for sex, BC and SES in the relationship between PA with HRPF and MRPF, reductions in most correlations were observed. Conclusion: Moderate vigorous physical activity levels were positively associated with HRPF, MRPF and some motor skills in 5–8-year-olds. Socioeconomic status (lower parental income, employment and education negatively influenced the association between MVPA and fitness [beeps, SBJ, O2max]). Contribution: This study provides knowledge with regard to the use of accelerometer for baseline data for PA, MRPF, HRPF as well as motor skills in South African children.

Background: Motor development of many children in rural areas of South Africa is compromised because of various socio-economic factors, hence, the need to address these developmental needs. Aim: To examine the immediate and sustainable effects of a 9-week movement programme on fundamental movement skills (FMS) of school children. Setting: Seven to eight years old school children in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, Eastern Cape province. Methods: A two-group, pre-post-re-test research design was used. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) proficiency was assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3) at pre-test, post-test and re-test after 6 months. Ninety-three school children (intervention group [IG] = 57) and (control group = 36), with a mean age of 7.12 (± 0.71) participated in the study. The twice-a-week FMS programme of 30 min was conducted during school hours. Statistical analysis included an ANOVA type of hierarchical linear model (HLM) (mixed models) procedure to test for intervention effects with school, time, sex and group as covariants. Cohen’s effect size was calculated to assess the practical significance of changes. Results: Immediate and sustainable effects were found on locomotor (p 0.05; d 1.7, p 0.05; d 2.0), ball skills (p 0.05; d 0.7, p 0.05; d 1.5) and the gross motor index (GMI) of the IG (p 0.05; d 1.0, p 0.05; d 2.0). Conclusions: A short-duration FMS intervention significantly improve locomotor, ball skills, and GMI of school children in rural areas. Contributions: Interventions of this nature are encouraged to improve the FMS development of school children, especially in rural areas, as it can enhance the building blocks required in the future development of these children.

Menarche is a significant pubertal event influencing girls’ participation in physical activity. As menarche is a sensitive matter, a non-invasive substitute is needed to help classify girls’ maturity status and provide physical literacy to them in this regard. The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the classification agreement between self-reported age of menarche and calculated maturity offset in adolescent girls from South Africa by making use of various statistical methods. Fifty-eight girls, n = 13 pre- and n = 45 post-menarche (Status Quo method) aged 13.51 ± 3.51 years at baseline, were analyzed (2010–2012). Independent t-testing, cross-tabulation, Roc Curve statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze the classification agreement between markers. All four statistical methods revealed the potential to categorize different maturity groups through the maturity offset equation, although the accuracy declined with increased age. A realized power of 0.92 was found for the group in the first year of the study, with a gradual and significant decline over time. Cross-tabs showed a significant moderate predictive effectiveness (Chi-square = 0.042) during T1, closer to PHV (13.51 years) although also declining significantly with increased age (T2, 14.51 years) beyond PHV (Chi-square = 0.459). Although positive results were found, caution must be used when using maturity offset equations in different homogenic populations due to their unique growth characteristics.