Differential effects of acute physical activity on executive function in preschoolers with high and low habitual physical activity levels

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of one bout of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) on executive function in preschoolers, and the moderating effect of children's habitual physical activity (PA) levels. MethodBased on accelerometer data from three weekdays and one weekend, 63 children aged 3–5 years were divided into tertiles. Children in the upper (n = 21) and lower (n = 20) tertiles participated in an intervention experiment. Using a within-subject design, 41 children participated in 25 min of PA (20 min of MVPA) and a sedentary control condition in random order on 2 separate days. The day–night Stroop, Corsi block, and dimensional change card sort (DCCS) tasks were administered individually in counterbalanced order after completion of each intervention activity. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine pre–post-test changes in task performance in the high and low PA groups. ResultsFlexibility performance on the DCCS task was temporarily enhanced by one bout of PA in preschoolers [F (1, 39) = 5.95, p = 0.02, η2 = 0.13]. An interaction effect was observed between the habitual PA level and acute PA on cognitive control [F (1, 39) = 5.47, p = 0.03, η2 = 0.12]. The acute PA intervention improved day–night Stroop reaction times in children with high (F = 9.15, p < 0.01), but not low, habitual PA levels (F = 0.10, p = 0.75). ConclusionAcute MVPA temporarily improves the cognitive performance of preschoolers, with a greater benefit for children with higher habitual PA levels.