Relationship between physical activity and fundamental movement skills and mental health in Chinese elementary school children

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association of Chinese elementary school children’s physical activity, fundamental movement skills (FMS) and mental health. Methods: Participants were 437 three to six-grade students (196 boys vs. 241 girls; mean age = 10.29 years old; SD = 0.072) at five elementary school children from the province of Hunan in China. The children’s physical activity, FMS, mental health were measured using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for the Older Children (PAQ-C), the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3), the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) respectively. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, Pearson’s correlation and linear regression models. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean score of physical activity, FMS, ball skills between the boys and girls. The result of linear regression models showed that physical activity was positively associated with FMS (F (1,433) = 16.006, ρ < 0.01), mental health (F (1,433) = 24.220, ρ < 0.01). Also, FMS were significantly associated with mental health (F (1,433) = 3.2119, ρ < 0.01). Conclusions: Chinese elementary school children’s physical activity and FMS were significantly associated with mental health. Improving the level of physical activity and FMS can effectively promote elementary school children’s mental health.