MONDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Children with a condition
known as developmental coordination disorder are at greater risk of
being overweight or obese than other youngsters, a new study
finds.
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), affects about one in
20 school-aged children and is characterized by coordination
problems, including difficulty with fine and gross motor skills.
The condition can interfere with normal activities such as personal
care, sports and other types of recreation, along with school
skills such as handwriting.
The Canadian study included 1,979 children from 75 schools in
the province of Ontario who were followed from grade 4 through
grade 7. The researchers screened the children for DCD and measured
their body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
Compared to other children, those diagnosed with possible DCD
were three times more likely than typical children to be overweight
and at increased risk for obesity.
The study appears in the current issue of the
Canadian Medical Association Journal.
"Although DCD has in the past been considered part of the normal continuum of motor proficiency or regarded as merely a 'playground disorder' that can be relegated to a secondary position in the universe of children's health concerns, these results, along with other recent research, suggest that this is no longer acceptable," Dr. John Cairney, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, and colleagues, said in a news release from the journal.
"The findings have important implications for intervention. There is a clear need to take a broader, longer-term view of the health consequences of DCD," they concluded.
In a related commentary, Scott Montgomery, of Orebro University
Hospital in Sweden, noted that it's plausible that poorer
coordination may result in reduced physical activity and, in turn,
unhealthy weight gain, but cautions that other factors -- such as
family stress and socioeconomic issues -- may also be at play.
Other experts have noted several problems affecting DCD
research, which include the fact that there are no biological
markers for the condition; genetic factors, if relevant, are not
well-understood; and screening is problematic.
More information
The MedlinePlus Encyclopedia has more about
developmental coordination disorder.