Motor skills of mild‐malnourished compared with normal preschool Senegalese children

The relationship between motor skills and mild protein‐energy malnutrition was studied in a rural Senegalese setting. Eighty‐eight children in good health, aged between 3 and 5 years were examined on 3 occasions in the course of one year, and their physical performance and motor skills evaluated. Regular progress in their abilities was observed over the year. Nevertheless, 3#sh4 of them portrayed mild somatic deficiencies. After dividing the children into 4 nutritional groups according to their height‐for‐age and weight‐for‐height deficiencies, it was found that normal and thin children, scored higher in the various tests than did children who were underheight, or both underheight and underweight. Insufficient muscular mass available for exercise seemed to be the principle factor limiting the performance of these mildly undernourished children. However, other hypotheses should be mentioned: reduction in the children's habitual physical activity, and the neuro‐motor consequences resulting from former, severe malnutrition. These observations show that even slight degree malnutrition can affect a child's ability to perform physical work and, thus, hinder his future development and learning.