The objective of this study was to investigate the association between nutritional status and motor performance of children. Methods: The study included 287 children, 151 boys and 136 girls aged between 5 and 10 years (<img border=0 width=32 height=32 src="../../../../../../../../img/revistas/refuem/v23n2/x.jpg" align=absmiddle > or = 8.1+1.7 SD) with nutritional status recommended for age (NCHS, 2002; ALVES, 2008). We evaluated the motor performance through the Test of Gross Motor Development - Second Edition - TGMD-2 (Ulrich, 2000). Results: Despite of the nutritional status a higher number of girls exhibited a poor motor performance compared to the boys. Large obese, obese and with previous poor nutrition showed higher prevalence of poor motor performance. Conclusion: The nutritional status was associated with performance of motor skills in the investigated children.
Nutritional status; Motor performance; Children