The purpose of this study was to assess and to compare the motor performance of preschool children engaged and not engaged in systematic physical activity (SPA). Eighty-eight children (52 engaged and 36 not engaged in SPA), aged 4-6 years, attending kindergarten classes at five schools in Porto Alegre, RS, participated in the study. A questionnaire was applied to verify the level of physical activity of the children, and the Test of Gross Motor Development - Second Editon (TGMD-2) of Ulrich (2000) was used for the analysis of motor performance in the children. The results evidenced that, although both groups have shown a level of motor performance below the average for their ages, the group of children engaged in SPA showed better performance in the locomotor skills, in the object control, and in the gross motor quotient than the group of children not engaged in SPA.
Physical activity; Motor performance; Children
