Comparison of motor performance in typically developing children engaged in gymnastics and classical ballet.
Shinichiro Oka, Saori Tanaka, Nozomi Hamachi and 3 others
PMID 40757013WHAT IT FOUND
Children doing weekly gymnastics threw and jumped farther than those doing weekly ballet.
Children doing ballet had less body sway when standing, especially with eyes open. The study cannot separate the effect of the training from the effect of being a boy or a girl.
Key findings
01Boys in gymnastics threw the tennis ball significantly farther (7.0 m vs 4.9 m) and jumped significantly farther in the standing long jump (104.7 cm vs 94.4 cm) than girls in ballet.
02Girls in ballet showed significantly less sway during standing balance tests, with smaller circumference area in eyes-open, eyes-closed, and foam eyes-closed conditions, and shorter total locus length in eyes-open conditions.
03The study design assigned boys to gymnastics and girls to ballet, so any observed difference in motor or balance performance may reflect sex-based developmental differences rather than the specific training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study did not randomise children to activities. Boys were assigned to gymnastics and girls to ballet, meaning any difference in performance could be due to sex-based developmental differences rather than the training itself. The study was cross-sectional, comparing children at one point in time. It does not show that the activities caused the differences, only that they are associated with them. Individual factors outside the kindergarten classes, such as extra physical activity at home or personal exercise preferences, were not measured or controlled for. The sample was small (52 children analysed) and drawn from a single kindergarten, limiting generalisability.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Ogata Memorial Science Foundation, which had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, or manuscript preparation. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that gymnastics causes better throwing and jumping or that ballet causes better balance. The study compared boys in gymnastics to girls in ballet, so the results may reflect normal sex-based differences in motor development rather than the specific effects of the activities.