Examining Gender and Body Mass Index Differences in Movement Assessment Battery for Children-3 Performance Among 18–25 Year Olds

Motor skills are important for lifelong health and are often assessed in childhood, with well-documented gender and weight differences. However, how these differences persist into young adulthood remains less understood and underexplored. The purpose of this study was to examine gender and body mass index differences in motor skills among young adults (18–25 years) using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-3. 131 young adults were recruited, and 123 (46% male, M age = 21.86 ± 1.87 years) completed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-3 and self-reported demographic information. Height and weight were objectively measured, and body mass index was calculated (in kilogram per square meter). A Kruskal–Wallis test was used on Movement Assessment Battery for Children-3 subscales and total scores due to violations of normality and visual inspections of plots. There was a significant effect for gender on aiming and catching ( p < .001), with males outperforming females. Conversely, females outperformed males in manual dexterity ( p < .001) and balance ( p = .013). Participants classified as normal weight performed significantly better than those overweight ( p = .015) on balance. No significant main effects were found on total motor scores for either gender or body mass index (all p > .05). Results emphasize the need to further explore how gender and weight influence motor skills in young adults and how these relationships are mediated by other health outcomes.