Physical-motor development pattern in 9-14 years old children from a Cuban municipality

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Many studies on the local population of Buey Arriba, Cuba, have revealed trends of growth and body development different from the rest of the country, such as a lower average height. OBJECTIVE: To identify population patterns of physical-motor development in children aged 9-14 years old. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted in children aged 9-14 years old, to consider the possible existence of patterns of physical-motor development associated with physical abilities flexibility, endurance, strength and speed, living in the municipality of Buey Arriba, Cuba. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Sample Adequacy Measurement, Bartlett's Sphericity and Factor Analysis were used as statistical techniques. RESULTS: We selected a sample of 1409 children. Three patterns capable of explaining a significant percent of the variance were recognized. The first presented the highest loads in indicators related to strength and flexibility; the second, had the highest loads in force-speed indicators; in the third, they were associated with resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Children aged 9 to 14 in the municipality of Buey Arriba, Cuba, have underlying patterns of physical-motor development, reflected in the dyad gene pool-environmental pressures, which is mainly related to patterns of strength-flexibility and strength- speed, and to a lesser extent with resistance, perhaps because the altitude of the municipality does not reach the threshold for the release of erythropoietin induced by hypoxia.