Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown associations of physical fitness and cognition in children and in younger and older adults. However, knowledge about associations in high-school adolescents and young adults is sparse. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of physical fitness, measured as maximal oxygen uptake (), muscle mass, weekly training, and cognitive function in the executive domains of selective attention and inhibitory control, in healthy male high-school students.Methods: Fifty-four males (17.9 ± 0.9 years, 72 ± 11 kg and 182 ± 7 cm) completed a test, a body composition test and a visual cognitive task based on the Posner cue paradigm with three types of stimuli with different attentional demands (i.e., stimuli presentation following no cue, valid cue or invalid cue presentations). The task consisted of 336 target stimuli, where 56 (17%) of the target stimuli appeared without a cue (no cue), 224 (67%) appeared in the same rectangle as the cue (valid cue) and 56 (17%) appeared in the rectangle opposite to the cue (invalid cue). Mean reaction time (RT) and corresponding errors was calculated for each stimuli type. Total task duration was 9 min and 20 s In addition, relevant background information was obtained in a questionnaire.Results: Linear mixed model analyses showed that higher was associated with faster RT for stimuli following invalid cue (Estimate = −2.69, SE = 1.03, p = 0.011), and for stimuli following valid cue (Estimate = −2.08, SE = 1.03, p = 0.048). There was no association of muscle mass and stimuli (F = 1.01, p = 0.397) or of weekly training and stimuli (F = 0.99, p = 0.405).Conclusion: The results suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive performance in healthy male high-school students in the executive domains of selective attention.
Highlights
IntroductionResearchers have become increasingly interested in investigating possible impacts of physical activity and physical fitness on cognitive functions, and several studies have suggested that higher physical fitness levels are associated with cognitive benefits (Guiney and Machado, 2013; Dupuy et al, 2015; Cox et al, 2016).VO2max and CognitionThe vast majority of research has been conducted with older adults (above 50 years), and shows positive associations of physical activity and cognitive function (Colcombe and Kramer, 2003), as well as a reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline (Paillard et al, 2015)
The results suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive performance in healthy male high-school students in the executive domains of selective attention
The findings of this study show that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive performance in healthy male high-school students
Summary
Researchers have become increasingly interested in investigating possible impacts of physical activity and physical fitness on cognitive functions, and several studies have suggested that higher physical fitness levels are associated with cognitive benefits (Guiney and Machado, 2013; Dupuy et al, 2015; Cox et al, 2016).VO2max and CognitionThe vast majority of research has been conducted with older adults (above 50 years), and shows positive associations of physical activity and cognitive function (Colcombe and Kramer, 2003), as well as a reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline (Paillard et al, 2015). A growing number of studies have shown positive associations between physical fitness and cognitive function in developing children and young adolescents (Hillman et al, 2009; Chaddock et al, 2011; Fedewa and Ahn, 2011; Esteban-Cornejo et al, 2015). Knowledge about the associations in high-school adolescents and young adults are still sparse (Cox et al, 2016). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of physical fitness, measured as maximal oxygen uptake (V O2max), muscle mass, weekly training, and cognitive function in the executive domains of selective attention and inhibitory control, in healthy male high-school students
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