[Aims] The purpose of this study was to clarify the actual status of the number of stationary dribbles (NSD) in elementary school students by grade and sex to enhance the promotion of children’s health.
[Methods] The subjects were grade 1 to 6 students (463 boys and 440 girls) in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The measurement items were age, height, body weight, and NSD. In addition, the status of ball-playing exercises and the frequency of outside activities out of school were investigated by questionnaire.
[Results] NSD of boys significantly increased as grade increased; however, the NSD of girls did not significantly increase after the 4th grade. NSD of boys was 15.6% to 23.4% higher than that of girls, and there were significant differences in performance in grades 1, 5, and 6 between boys and girls. In addition, the percentage of children who played ball-playing exercises in outdoor activities for boys was 10.2% to 50.5% higher than that of girls. Furthermore, 6.8% to 16.2% more boys than girls engaged in outdoor activities out of school, and the differences between them became bigger in the upper grades.
[Conclusion] Our findings suggest that the object control motor skill of elementary school boys was more developed than that of girls, and the differences between them became bigger after the 4th grade. Therefore, our findings suggest that it is necessary to promote ball playing exercises actively, especially for girls in the lower grades in order to improve children’s coordination ability.
[Keywords] object control motor skill, coordination ability, sex difference
