Abstract
Objectives: Evidence of school-based physical activity (PA) on academic performance in children and adolescents was inconsistent, especially in high school students who face a high academic burden. In this study, we tested the efficacy of a strengthened physical education (PE) program on academic outcomes in Shanghai. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was conducted to investigate the effect of strengthened PE on academic scores by calculating the grade-cohort difference before and after the intervention. PE curriculum switched from traditional short duration (40 minutes) general fitness training to long duration (90 minutes) specialized sports (e.g., football, aerobics). A total of 460 high school students (236 pre-intervention and 224 post-intervention) were enrolled in grade 10 and followed for two and three semesters. The academic outcome was assessed by district-standardized test scores. A difference-in-difference approach was employed. Results: After two semesters, the standardized Chinese language scores and English language scores for the post intervention group were increased by 0.61 SD (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44, 0.78, p < 0.001) and 0.28 SD (95% CI: 0.09, 0.47, p = 0.01). However, the standardized math scores for the post intervention group were decreased in girls. After three semesters, standardized Chinese language scores for the post intervention group were increased by 0.27 SD (95% CI: 0.06, 0.48, p = 0.01). Math scores and English language scores decreased by 0.18 SD (95% CI: −0.36, −0.01, p = 0.04) and 0.23 SD (95% CI: −0.38, −0.09, p = 0.00), respectively. Conclusion: A school-based physical education program had mixed effects on academic scores in high school students.
Highlights
The growing epidemic of obesity in children and adolescents has become a global health crisis, for it is associated with type 2 diabetes, specific types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease among adolescents [1]
Similar patterns assessed at two semesters were found in both models, Model 2 had slightly larger effect sizes
This study evaluated, through a quasi-experimental design, a strengthened physical education pilot in one of the world most academically competitive high school settings, the Shanghai metropolitan area in China [29]
Summary
The growing epidemic of obesity in children and adolescents has become a global health crisis, for it is associated with type 2 diabetes, specific types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease among adolescents [1]. One well-documented key factor is inadequate physical activity (PA) [2]. A recent national survey in China found that less than 30% of school-aged children met the criteria of at least. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 4688; doi:10.3390/ijerph16234688 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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