Ocena osnovnih motoričnih sposobnosti pri italijanskih otrocih po pandemiji covida-19

Motor competence assessment represents one of the most important topics in the field of motor development and physical education. The present cross-sectional study aims to assess basic motor competence, self-perception and enjoyment during physical activity (PA) in a sample of normal weight, and overweight or obese children post-COVID-19 pandemic. The participants (N = 107, age = 8-9 years old) were recruited from an experimental project conducted in Lecce (Italy). The motor competence assess-ment was undertaken using MOBAK 3-4 protocol, and self-perception and enjoyment were evaluated with two validated questionnaires. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to assess the effect of gender and BMI on the variables considered. Despite the MANOVA results indicating no significant interaction effects between variables, a significant main effect was found for gender [F(10,93) = 2.353, p = .013, η² = 0,218] and BMI cutoff [F(10,93) = 2.351, p = .013, η² = 0,218]. Moreover, an independent t-test highlighted significant differences in catching, dribbling, balanc-ing and object movement according to gender (p < .05), and in balancing, rolling and self-movement according to BMI cutoff (p < .05). Self-efficacy differed significantly be-tween males and females, while no significant effect was found for enjoyment. Further studies should investigate the effect of BMI and factors related to physical activity on motor competence development.