Introduction:

gross motor development (GMD) is important in preschool children to build confidence, participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and prevent obesity.

Objective:

to describe the GDM and nutritional status of preschoolers, as well as their knowledge about health-related physical activity.

Material and methods:

183 preschoolers were included, of which 95 were girls and 88 boys, with an average age of 4.8 years. They were recruited from two public schools in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index. For the GMD, the test of gross motor development 3 (TGMD-3) was used, and for knowledge about physical activity, images based on the PE Metrics® book were used.

Results:

17.5% of preschoolers were overweight or obese. On the other hand, 33.3% showed below-average performance in locomotor skills, 26.3% in object control skills, and 34% in GMD. In terms of knowledge, 85.2% did not recognize physical activities, 67.8% did not identify the components of physical fitness, and 80.9% did not identify the physical activities that they can do outside of school.

Conclusions:

educational interventions are necessary in preschool children to improve GMD and knowledge about physical activity, which could help promote healthy lifestyles.