Abstract
To examine the longitudinal relationships between objectively measured total volume and specific intensities of physical activity (PA) with academic performance in a large sample of youth aged 6-18 years. A longitudinal study of 1046 youth (10.04±3.10 years) from Spain was followed over 2 years. PA (volume and intensity) was measured by accelerometry. Academic performance was assessed through grades reported on the transcript at the end of the academic year (Mathematics, Language, an average of these two core subjects, and grade point average [GPA]). Longitudinal relationships between PA and four indicators of academic performance were examined using covariance and regression analyses, adjusted for a variety of confounders. Youth Quartile 2 for PA volume at baseline obtained better scores than those who participated in Quartiles 1 or 4 volumes of PA in GPA 2 years later (p=0.006). There were generally no longitudinal associations between specific PA intensities and any of the academic performance indicators (all p>0.170). However, a change in light PA over 2 years was inversely associated with three academic indicators in youth (βrange , -.103 to-090; all P<040). Findings suggest that participants in Quartile 2 volume of PA had a better GPA in comparison with Quartiles 1 and 4 volumes of PA during youth, but there was no association with changes in PA volume over time. PA intensity was generally unrelated to academic performance during youth. However, there was an inverted u-shape relationship between light PA changes and GPA.
Highlights
The physical health benefits of physical activity (PA) for youth are widely acknowledged,[1] yet PA benefits brain health.2–6 Academic performance is a consequence of brain function and has been a cornerstone of the advances achieved by humans.[7]
There were no significant differences in any academic performance indicator between quartiles of light PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA)
This longitudinal study suggests that engaging in approximately 250 mins/day of total PA volume at baseline was associated with a better academic performance 2 years later, with grade point average (GPA)
Summary
The physical health benefits of physical activity (PA) for youth are widely acknowledged,[1] yet PA benefits brain health.2–6 Academic performance is a consequence of brain function and has been a cornerstone of the advances achieved by humans.[7] According to the WHO– UNICEF–Lancet Commission the evidence is clear, early investments in children's education have benefits that compound throughout the child's lifetime, for their future, and society as a whole[8] In this sense, growing evidence has been amassed over the past two decades that PA is considered as one of the more promising and cost-efficient methods to enhance brain function and succeeding academically during youth.3,4,9–24 the evidence from these systematic reviews and meta-analytic investigations has documented positive or null effects of either chronic and acute effect PA on academic performance with small-to-moderate effect sizes.[9,14,18,20,22] A common conclusion of this vast amount of evidence is that many aspects of the causality of the objectively PA on academic performance, such as PA characteristics (ie, volume and/ or intensity), remain unclear. The past evidence raises some questions for future research on PA volume, such as the use of objective methods to PA assessment, the need for longitudinal designs, the consideration of different academic indicators, and/or the study of different PA measures
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