Does body mass index distinguish motor proficiency, social and emotional maturity among adolescent girls?

Background The objective of this study was to investigate whether different body mass index (BMI) groups could serve as a distinguishing factor for assessing motor proficiency and social and emotional maturity in adolescent girls. Methods 140 girls ranging from 12 to 14.5 years old were selected from the schools of Tabriz city, Iran. After their height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index, they completed the following questionnaires: Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of motor proficiency, Second Edition,Vineland Social Maturity Scale, and Emotional Maturity scale. Results normal-weight girls had a meaningful advantage against overweight and underweight participants in the gross motor factor of motor proficiency (p=0.004), but there wasn’t a meaningful difference in the fine motor p=0.196) and coordination factors (p=0.417). Also, social maturity showed an advantage of normal and underweight adolescent girls in the self-help dressing factor (p=0.018), while the locomotion skills (p=0.010) factor revealed a better performance of normal weight and overweight groups over underweight adolescents. No significant differences were observed in the emotional maturity subscales (p=0.63) between the groups. Conclusions The present study demonstrates that BMI has a direct influence on adolescents’ gross motor proficiency and social maturity.