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August 15, 2026Scientific ReportsOpen Access

Prospective annual evaluation of sports motor performance, BMI and social index in Swiss first graders over a period of 12 years

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Authors

PGPascale GränicherLNLukas NiederbergerMSMarc W. Schmid

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Overview

Cross-sectional monitoring reveals body mass index strongly influences sports motor performance in first graders, suggesting weight differences mediate socioeconomic disparities in fitness.

Key Points

  • To assess neuromotor development alongside environmental factors in first graders, focusing on how body mass index and district social index influence sports motor performance over a 12-year period.
  • Conducted annual cross-sectional monitoring across all seven school districts in Zurich, Switzerland from 2012 to 2023 (N=38,977; 49% girls; mean age 6.9 ± 0.37 years).
  • Assessed sports motor performance using a 20-m sprint, standing long jump, tapping, lateral hops, and shuttle run alongside measurements of height, weight, and district social index.
  • Body mass index accounted for more than 50% of the population-level variation in sports motor performance scores, whereas district social index added no significant explanatory power.
  • Associations between body mass index and individual test scores varied, with the shuttle run showing the highest variance explained and the tapping score showing the lowest.
  • Mean and median body mass index remained stable across the 12-year period, with district social index and sports motor performance being closely linked through body mass differences.

Cite This Study

Gränicher et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8019bb75c2e31742c85dd9https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66062-7
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Secular change in selected motor performance parameters and BMI in Swiss primary school children from 2014-2021: The Sportcheck+ study2023 · 11 citations
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  5. 5A multivariate multilevel approach to unravel the associations between individual and school factors on children's motor performance in the <scp>REACT</scp> project2024 · 5 citations