Is academic performance an indicator for physical fitness?

Abstract

Abstract Many studies have investigated whether elevated levels of physical activity and fitness improve academic performance in children, but only a few have examined whether it is physical fitness which varies with academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine if academic performance is indeed an indicator for physical fitness. For this study, middle school students were recruited for the necessary values and information. The data acquired for academic performance were based off of a public honour roll list distributed within the school community and physical fitness was evaluated via mile-run time, resting, post-active blood pressure and heart rate. There were no differences in proportion across the academic cohorts for any measurements of physical fitness. There was no conclusion such as “students with higher academic performance are less physically fit”; all academic cohorts had relatively similar levels of physical fitness. This may be due to mandatory physical and health education classes, which all students attend; the physical fitness levels are similar due to similar training.