Abstract
Purpose: To determine whether physical fitness mediates the relationship between academic performance and motor proficiency in children. Methods: The academic achievement of 1864 students (F:926, M:938, age 11.91 (SD:0.34) from the Niagara Region of Ontario was derived from the average of provincial standardized tests for reading, writing, and mathematics. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Performance (short-form) determined motor proficiency. Fitness (peak oxygen uptake) was established with the 20-metre shuttle run multistage test. Results: Hierarchical linear modeling identified several significant predictors of academic performance. After controlling for age (p=0.7002), gender (p<0.0001), and parental education (p<0.0001), both motor proficiency (p<0.0001) and physical fitness (p=0.0004) remained significant. The addition of physical fitness to the model reduced the point estimate of motor proficiency from 0.004 to 0.003, a reduction of 25%. However, further examination of the 95% confidence intervals suggests that this reduction is not significant. Conclusions: These results suggest that aerobic fitness does not mediate the relationship between motor proficiency and academic performance. Both physical fitness and motor proficiency have independent roles in predicting academic performance.
Highlights
The many health benefits that accrue from a physically active lifestyle are well documented
The main objective of this study was to establish the relationship between motor proficiency and academic performance while determining the mediating effects of aerobic fitness
The results support a growing body of evidence demonstrating a positive relationship between academic performance and aerobic fitness
Summary
The many health benefits that accrue from a physically active lifestyle are well documented. As such, increasing physical activity has been the goal of numerous health promotion campaigns. Promoting physical activity among children is challenging, one point of entry is the school environment.[1] In 2005, Canada’s largest province by population introduced a policy, memorandum 138, that required each child in a publicly funded elementary school to receive a minimum of 20 minutes of physical activity daily.[2] One significant challenge for the implementation of this and similar policies is the perception that increased time in physical activity during the school day will take away from school lessons and, as a result, diminish academic performance. Whether this perception holds in the face of scrutiny is unclear as the relationships between physical activity, physical fitness, and academic performance appear to be positive
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