Veneri, Decker, and Gannotti Publish in Pediatric Physical Therapy

Assistant Professor Diana Veneri (Physical Therapy, ENHP), Associate Professor Robert Decker (Mathematics, A&S), and Associate Professor Mary Gannotti (Physical Therapy, ENHP) had an article published in the Fall issue of Pediatric Physical Therapy, entitled “Weight Status and Gross Motor Skills in Kindergarten Children.” The article was published in collaboration with Dr. Dawn Roberts (Physical Therapy) from Springfield College.

The study highlighted the decreased ability of children with obesity to perform balance, hopping, and jumping activities. The authors state that activities that require stabilization or movement of body mass were impacted by weight status. The study utilized the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort dataset, and data on over 4,000 children were analyzed.