Energy Intake from Healthy Foods Is Associated with Motor Fitness in Addition to Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study of First-Grade Schoolchildren in Japan

Childhood motor fitness is important for the physical and mental health of children and the prevention of future lifestyle diseases. This study aimed to investigate how energy intake from healthy foods and physical activity are associated with motor fitness among first-grade children. First-grade children (aged 6-7 years) attending three public elementary schools in Tokyo, Japan (n = 884), participated in this cross-sectional study. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed, which focused on lifestyle habits and required completion of a 1-day dietary record of meals that children ate at home. School lunch consumption was also assessed. Motor fitness was assessed by the New Physical Fitness Test (NPFT). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the association of the amount of energy from healthy foods and physical activity with NPFT scores. NPFT scores were positively correlated with involvement in after school exercise classes, playing outside (in boys only), and total energy intake. Energy intake from healthy foods showed a positively associated with NPFT scores (boys, beta = 0.120, p = 0.011; girls, beta = 0.140, p = 0.004), while energy intake from unhealthy foods did not. Energy intake from healthy foods was associated with motor fitness in children in addition to physical activity.