Interventions for the promotion of motor activities in primary schools in Italy. The SBAM project. Results of the first monitoring of motor development

Physical education in primary school significantly contributes to the educational process of a person promoting physical active lifestyles for all disabled and able-bodied children. Various studies have presented good practices through the school organizational curriculums and teacher trainings in order to increase motor learning opportunities, develop interdisciplinary relationships and raise the levels of physical activity in accordance with the HEPA recommendations. Among the activities carried out at schools for promoting health through proper eating habits and active lifestyles, there has been the three-year program called SBAM (linked to sports, wellness, nutrition, and mobility) in the Apulian region of Italy. It was attended by 207 schools, 15,260 children, and 140 experienced physical education teachers. The program integrated three curricular courses: physical education, eating habits and urban mobility. In each school, physical education was the main action and connection with other measures including nutrition education and mobility. In the following study, we will present the preliminary results of the motor monitoring and document the results of the project establishing a regional observatory on the motor development during childhood and adolescence. The results will confirm previous evidence: body mass index affects the motor development, the physical efficiency and the gross motor coordination. The normative data distributed in deciles will prove to be useful reference for the transverse-longitudinal studies in the motor development of children, in the implementation of the territorial interventions, as well as in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the educational process.