Childhood obesity is closely associated with decreased health-related physical fitness, with PBF being a more stable predictor than BMI. Motor coordination represents one behavioral pathway that may partially explain the association between body composition and physical fitness performance. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings reflect statistical associations rather than causal or neuromotor mechanisms. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to further verify directionality.
Zhao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.