We tracked the motor skill development of young children aged 3–6 years and investigated the influence of middle‐income home environment on the development of motor skill. 268 children were selected from kindergartens in Beijing. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) tool was used to test the development of locomotor and object‐control skills (LS and OS), and a survey of children’s behaviour and home environment was conducted. During the follow‐up, the LS and OS of children aged 3–6 years continued to grow, with an annual growth rate of 20% and 30%. Five LS indicators and two OS indicators were significantly higher in the 3–4‐year group than in the 4–5 and 5–6‐year groups (p < 0.01). The age‐sex trend model showed that girls’ locomotor skill developed at a significantly higher rate than that of boys (β = 6.3004 and 4.6782, p < 0.001). Three‐year‐old boys performed significantly better than girls on object‐control motor skill (p < 0.05). Factors affecting the rate of children’s motor skill development in middle‐income families included the frequency of playing with friends (β = 0.133, p = 0.032) and the frequency of bicycling, skateboarding, dancing, running, and jumping (β = 0.041, p = 0.042). Family income, parents’ education level, and family activity area did not significantly affect the growth rate of motor skills. For middle‐income families, the improvement of material environment at home like more playing spaces and toys did not speed up the motor development, while more opportunities to play with friends and engage in a variety of sports activities could promote children’s motor skill development.

Objectives: Autism spectrum disorders(ASD)describe a wide range of pervasive developmental disorders by core symptoms including deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped behaviors. At the same time, some children with autism are accompanied by motor development disorder. Many studies have confirmed that the motor development impairment was significantly associated with the social problems associated with ASD. Thus, this study aimed to investigate how motor development affects social adaptability in children with ASD to provide references for early ASD intervention.Materials and methods: The case data of children’s health care were selected in 2021. Motor development was assessed with the Developmental Behavior Assessment Scale for Children Aged 0–6 years. Social adaptability was measured using the Japanese S-M Social Living Skills Scale. Statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS 22.0 software package. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and logistic regression.Results: A total of 198 cases comprising 140 boys (70.71%) and 58 girls (29.29%) were included, and the average age of participants was 3.40 ± 1.06 years, with 3.33 ± 1.18 years in the typical development (TD) children group and 3.46 ± 0.95 years in the ASD group. The social adaptability of 107 ASD children was abnormal, including 37 children (34.5%) with marginal, 48 children (44.9%) with mild, 17 children (15.9%) with moderate, and 5 children (4.7%) with severe. In 91 TD children, there were 51 children (56.04%) with normal social adaptability, 38 children (41.75%) with marginal, 2 children (2.19%) with mild, and nobody with moderate or severe. The ASD children had lower levels of developmental behavior than those of TD children, and the difference was statistically significant. The results of logistic regression showed that fine motor increased by 1 unit, and the OR value of one level decreased in social adaptability was 2.24 times (OR = e⁰.⁸⁰⁷ = 2.24).Conclusion: In children with ASD, not only motor development is delayed, but also social adaptability is affected, and fine motor skill may be important for social adaptability.

Purpose: To investigate the compliance rates of health-related behaviors among Chinese preschool children, and to explore how supportive family environment, parental behavior, sociodemographic and community factors affect children’s health-related behavior comprehensively. Method: Preschool children aged 3 to 6 years were chosen from 5760 villages (residential) committees from 471 counties (districts) of 31 provinces by use of a stratified random sampling procedure, with 10,967 preschool children aged 3–6 years old included. The survey was conducted from September 2020 to November 2020. Results: The proportion of Chinese preschool children who met the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), screen time behavior (ST), and sleep behavior (SLP) guidelines were 62.3%, 52.8%, and 53.8%. Among the supportive family environment factors, parents’ time with their children on weekends had the most significant impact on children’s MVPA, ST, and SLP, with the odds ratio (OR) values of 2.18 (95%CI:1.97, 2.40), 0.69 (0.63, 0.76), and 1.62 (1.48, 1.79), respectively. Among the parental behavior factors, the mother’s exercise frequency had a strong association with the children’s MVPA and SLP, with OR values of 1.65 (1.50, 1.83) and 1.24 (1.13, 1.37), respectively; the mother’s screen time was inversely associated with the children’s ST with an OR value of 0.47 (0.44, 0.51). Conclusions: Different types of family environments were associated with the different levels of MVPA, ST and SLP among Chinese preschool children. In addition to the influence of parents’ education and family income, parents could also improve their children’s behaviors by providing a supportive family environment. The more of these factors presented in a family, the more likely it was for children to meet the guidelines. Therefore, for those families whose children’s health-related behaviors needed to be improved, the parents should create supportive family environments, such as by playing less on mobile phone and spending more time with children.

Purpose: To investigate the changes in Chinese adults’ physical activity (PA) behavior and determinants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A total of 1028 adults (aged 19–59 years) were recruited from 127 urban and rural neighborhoods in China using stratified three-stage probability sampling. Data collection was conducted in December 2019 and July 2020. Results: Compared with the data before the pandemic, individuals’ weekly moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) decreased significantly from 139 min to 120 min, seven months after the outbreak (p = 0.01), with female and rural populations displaying a more significant decrease (p = 0.02). Overall, 13.7% of participants met the PA guidelines (World Health Organization) both before and during the pandemic, while 21.8% met the guidelines only before the pandemic and 18.1% increased their PA and met the PA guidelines during the pandemic. A total of 46.4% did not meet the PA guidelines before or during the pandemic. Determinants of PA behavior change before and during the pandemic included sports skills, self-determined motivation and support from sports organizations. Conclusions: The Chinese adults’ PA levels decreased significantly from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among the female population. It is suggested that the enhancement of self-determined motivation, improvement of sport skills, and support from sports organizations might be effective in facilitating individuals’ engagement in PA during the pandemic.

Scientific fitness literacy (SFL) is a holistic concept based on physical literacy but has a smaller scope and is more specific to exercise and scientific fitness. We developed an instrument to assess SFL and explored the differences and similarities in the effects of the home environment on children’s SFL. Data from a nationwide stratified random sample of children were analyzed using multiple linear regression. SFL scores were significantly lower for preschoolers than for school-age children. The family environment has an impact throughout the preschool and school years, with school-age children’s SFL being less influenced by family members than preschool children; screen time has a negative impact on their SFL but reducing the number of electronic devices and increasing parental physical activity and modeling can alleviate its impact. The economic status of the family is crucial, with sports consumption expenditure and household sports equipment ownership being favourable factors for children’s SFL. Positive parental attitudes and sporting habits have a positive impact on their children’s SFL. The findings of this study can be used to improve children’s SFL in the home environment and to take effective measures to avoid the risk factors.

This study examined the trends of physical fitness among children aged 3-6 years old and identified the factors associated with the change of children's physical fitness. Datum were from two cross-sectional surveys in 2005 and 2015. Children aged 3-6 years old in China Macao were recruited from 6 kindergartens. 6 kindergartens were selected from North, South and Central districts, and two kindergartens in each district using random cluster sampling in 2005. The same 6 kindergartens were selected in 2015. Physical fitness testing and a survey on children behavior were conducted for all children. Standing long jump, shuttle run, sit and reach, and continuous jump of children in Macao improved significantly in some age groups from 2005 to 2015 (P < 0.05). Results of general linear model showed that: (1) The effect of height and weight on physical fitness was less than test year effect (standing long jump: partial η2 of height = 4.5%, partial η2 of time = 8.5%); (2) after adjusted age, gender and parental education level, participating in sports clubs was associated with standing long jump(β = 5.827,p = 0.048) and shuttle run (β = -0.759, p = 0.042) in 2015. Less sedentary entertainment time and participating in sports club were two Interactive protecting factors of improving throwing ability (β = 1.862, p = 0.045). The changes in height and weight were not the whole reason for the change of physical fitness among Macao preschoolers. The behaviors, including participating in sports clubs and the less time of watching TV were associated with children's running, jumping and throwing.