Please cite this article in press as: Veldman SLC, et al. Associations between gross motor skills and physical activity in Australian toddlers. J Sci Med Sport (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.12.007 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model JSAMS-1778; No. of Pages 5 Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport xxx (2017) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsams Original research Associations between gross motor skills and physical activity in Australian toddlers Sanne L.C. Veldman a , Rachel A. Jones a , Rute Santos a,b , Eduarda Sousa-Sá a , João R. Pereira a,c , Zhiguang Zhang a , Anthony D. Okely a,d,∗ a Early Start, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia b Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Portugal c CIDAF (uid/dtp/04213/2016). University of Coimbra, Portugal d Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 13 September 2017 Received in revised form 5 December 2017 Accepted 8 December 2017 Available online xxx Keywords: Locomotor skills Object control skills Stability skills Early childhood a b s t r a c t Objectives: Physical activity can be promoted by high levels of gross motor skills. A systematic review found a positive relationship in children (3–18 years) but only few studies examined this in younger children. The aim of this study was to examine the association between gross motor skills and physical activity in children aged 11–29 months. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: This study involved 284 children from 30 childcare services in NSW, Australia (Mean age = 19.77 ± 4.18 months, 53.2% boys). Physical activity was measured using accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+). Gross motor skills were assessed using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales Second Edition (PDMS-2). Multilevel linear regression analyses were computed to assess associations between gross motor skills and physical activity, adjusting for sex, age and BMI. Results: Children spent 53.08% of their time in physical activity and 10.39% in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Boys had higher total physical activity (p < 0.01) and MVPA (p < 0.01) than girls. The average gross motor skills score was 96.16. Boys scored higher than girls in object manipulation (p < 0.001). There was no association between gross motor skills and total physical activity or MVPA. Conclusions: Although gross motor skills were not associated with physical activity in this sample, stronger associations are apparent in older children. This study therefore highlights a potential important age to promote gross motor skills. © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Physical activity is essential for healthy growth and develop- ment, and has been associated with physical, psychosocial, and cognitive health throughout childhood. 1,2 However, physical inac- tivity is a growing public health concern 3 and in addition to the increased morbidity, 3 is responsible for a large economic burden. 4 Therefore, promoting physical activity, especially across the lifes- pan, is a key public health priority. One way of increasing physical activity might be through pro- moting high levels of gross motor skill competence. Gross motor skills are seen as the building blocks and foundation of movement and physical activity, and are therefore a vital component through- ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: tokely@uow.edu.au (A.D. Okely). out life. 5 Models on motor development have also highlighted the importance of gross motor skill competence for advanced motor behavior. 6,7 For example, the “proficiency barrier” suggests a cer- tain level of gross motor skill competence is necessary to be able to engage in games and sports. 6 Gross motor skills comprise loco- motor skills, object control skills and stability skills, and include jumping, running, kicking and throwing. 5 They have been asso- ciated with several health-related and developmental outcomes across childhood and adolescence such as weight status, 8,9 self- perceptions, 8 cognition 10 and cardio-respiratory fitness. 8,9 Two recent systematic reviews found a positive relationship between gross motor skill competence and physical activity in children and adolescents. 11,12 However, only a few studies have examined this relationship in the early years of life (<5 years), with results inconclusive. Some studies found significant pos- itive but weak associations 13–15 while other studies found no associations. 16–18 Of these studies, three examined sex differences https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.12.007 1440-2440/© 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.