Aerobic exercise training reduces anxiety in children

Abstract

Introduction Aerobic exercise seems to decrease anxiety in children. However, those studies are subject to methodological deficiencies (e.g. no control group, cross-sectional study). Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study where we investigated how 10-week of aerobic or coordination training affects the anxiety of primary school children. Method Sixty-four children aged 9–10 years were randomly divided into an aerobic (AE; n =25), a coordinative (CE, n =23) and a control group (CON, n =20). The intervention groups received three times a week for 10 weeks for 45minutes additional physical education. The AE completed an aerobic exercise training at an intensity of 60–70% of maximum heart rate (HR max ). The CE completed a coordinative training, with an intensity of 55–65% of HR max . Anxiety was measured by the external version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC PTD). Results and discussion A repeated-measures ANOVA of group (AE, CE, CON)×test time (pre, post) showed a significant reduction in anxiety over time, F (1, 64)=7.337, P =.009, η 2 .=.103. The interaction effect of group x test time was also significant, F (2, 64)=3.445, P =.037, η 2 =.097. Only participants in the AE showed decreased anxiety ( P =.009). In the post-measurement, AE significantly differed from CE ( P =.023); the difference to CON was marginally significant ( P =.081). The results are discussed in terms of exercise type and the slightly different intensities of the experimental groups.