Relationships Between Academic Achievement And Aerobic Fitness And Physical Activity In Low Socioeconomic Children

Abstract

High levels of physical activity and aerobic fitness may yield increased academic performance in children. However, our understanding of this relationship in children attending schools in low socioeconomic status (SES) areas is limited. PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between physical activity levels and aerobic fitness on academic achievement in 4th and 5th grade children from a low SES community. METHODS: Participants were 116 children (51% girls; age=10.6±0.8 yr) from three elementary schools in Flint, MI. The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER), a 20-meter shuttle run which gradually increases in intensity, was administered to assess aerobic fitness (laps). Additionally, participants were invited to wear a spring-levered pedometer (YamaxDigi-Walker SW-200) for 7 days to assess average daily physical activity (steps/day). Pedometer cards were provided for the recording of daily step count and wear time. Academic achievement scores were provided in the form of reading and math grades by the respective elementary schools. Grades were investigated independently and also as a combined score. Pearson correlations and regression were used to examine the relationships between PACER laps and pedometer steps and grades. RESULTS: Participants yielded a mean PACER score of 15.25 laps and a mean pedometer step count of 9892 steps/day. Overall, a significant relationship was found between aerobic fitness and math grades (r=0.19, P=0.037) but not reading (r=0.05, NS) among 4th and 5th grade students. Least squares regression analysis revealed an interaction between PACER laps and school. Specifically, 14% of the variance in math scores could be explained by students' aerobic fitness in the lowest SES school (P=0.033). No significant relationships were found between physical activity and academic achievement, but complete data for these analyses were available on only 54 participants due to compliance issues (e.g., wear time, number of days worn, etc.). CONCLUSION: Our results support previous research showing a relationship between aerobic fitness and academic achievement. Further exploration is needed to determine why this association was most pronounced in children attending the lowest SES school. Funded by Michigan State University Colleges of Education and Human Medicine