scholarly journals Daily School Physical Activity Improves Academic Performance

Sports ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Jesper Fritz ◽  
Marcus E. Cöster ◽  
Björn E. Rosengren ◽  
Caroline Karlsson ◽  
Magnus K. Karlsson

Physical activity (PA) may improve brain development, cognition, concentration and academic performance. In this prospective controlled intervention study, we increased the level of PA in 338 children aged 6–8 years at study start, from the Swedish standard of 60 min per week to 200 min per week (40 min daily). The intervention continued in all nine compulsory school years until the students graduated between 2007–2012. All other 689,881 Swedish children who graduated the same years were included as a control group. We registered at graduation eligibility rate for upper secondary school and the final grade score (from 0 to 320 grade points). We also registered the same end points in the 295 students in the index school and in all other 471,926 Swedish students who graduated in 2003–2006, that is, those who graduated before the intervention study started. Before the intervention, academic performance was similar among children in the index school as for all other Swedish boys and girls. With the intervention, the eligibility rate increased for boys in the index school by 7.3 percentage points and the mean grade scores by 13.3 points. This should be compared with a decrease of 0.8 percentage points in eligibility rate and an increase by 2.7 points in grade score in other Swedish boys. No changes were seen for intervention girls, neither in eligibility rates or grade scores. By introducing daily school-based PA in compulsory school, more boys would probably reach the eligibility rate for higher education.

Author(s):  
Filip Christiansen ◽  
Viktor H. Ahlqvist ◽  
Mikaela Nyroos ◽  
Hans Löfgren ◽  
Daniel Berglind

Schools are an important arena to curb the decline in physical activity (PA) in youth. School-based interventions with accelerometer-measured PA are warranted. This study aimed to increase accelerometer-measured PA in adolescents following a 12-month school-based intervention. Two school-classes of 16–18-year-old Swedish students were allocated to intervention group and control group. Accelerometer-measured PA was gathered at baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-up. Mixed-effects linear regression was used to investigate between-group and within-group differences in mean minutes per day (min/day) of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA) and sedentary time (ST). Fifty-seven students participated (intervention group = 31, control group = 26). At 12-month follow-up, the intervention group performed 5.9 (95% CI: −4.3, 16.2) min/day more in MVPA, 1.8 (95% CI: −17.9, 14.2) min/day less in LPA, and 4.1 (95% CI: −27.3, 19.2) min/day less in ST compared to the control group. Within the intervention group, there was no significant change in PA. Within the control group, LPA decreased (95% CI: −19.6, −0.2; p = 0.044) and ST increased (95% CI: 1.8, 30.8; p = 0.028). Although no between-group differences in PA were statistically significant, the within-group changes may suggest a preventive impact on the decline in PA during adolescence.


Author(s):  
Elin Kolle ◽  
Runar Barstad Solberg ◽  
Reidar Säfvenbom ◽  
Sindre M. Dyrstad ◽  
Sveinung Berntsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Physical activity (PA) declines throughout adolescence, therefore PA promotion during this period is important. We analyzed the effect of two school-based PA interventions on daily PA levels, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle strength among adolescents. Methods For the nine-month School in Motion intervention study (ScIM), we cluster-randomized 30 Norwegian secondary schools (N = 2084, mean age [SD] = 14 [0.3] years) to one of three study arms. The physically active learning (PAL) intervention included 30 min physically active learning, 30 min PA and a 60 min physical education (PE) lesson per week. The Don’t worry-Be happy (DWBH) intervention included a 60 min PA lesson and a 60 min PE lesson per week, both tailored to promote friendships and wellbeing. Both intervention arms were designed to engage the adolescents in 120 min of PA per week in addition to recess and mandatory PE lessons. The control group continued as per usual, including the standard amount of mandatory PE. PA (main outcome) was assessed by accelerometers, CRF and muscle strength (secondary outcomes) were assessed by an intermittent running test and selected tests from the Eurofit test battery. Results Daily PA and time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) decreased in all groups throughout the intervention. The mean difference in PA level and MVPA for participants in the PAL-intervention arm was 34.7 cpm (95% CI: 4.1, 65.3) and 4.7 min/day (95% CI: 0.6, 8.8) higher, respectively, compared to the control arm. There were no significant intervention effects on daily PA level, MVPA or time spent sedentary for adolescents in the DWBH-intervention arm. Adolescents in the PAL-intervention arm increased distance covered in the running test compared to controls (19.8 m, 95% CI: 10.4, 29.1), whilst a negative intervention effect was observed among adolescents in the DWBH-intervention arm (− 11.6 m, 95% CI: − 22.0, − 1.1). Conclusion The PAL-intervention resulted in a significantly smaller decrease in daily PA level, time spent in MVPA, and increased CRF compared to controls. Our results indicate that a teacher-led intervention, including three unique intervention components, is effective in curbing the decline in PA observed across our cohort and improving CRF. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID nr: NCT03817047. Registered 01/25/2019 ‘retrospectively registered’.


Author(s):  
Robin A. Bertels ◽  
Janneke A. E. Kammeraad ◽  
Anna M. Zeelenberg ◽  
Luc H. Filippini ◽  
Ingmar Knobbe ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of the study is to compare the efficacy of flecainide, beta-blockers, sotalol, and verapamil in children with frequent PVCs, with or without asymptomatic VT. Frequent premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) and asymptomatic ventricular tachycardia (VT) in children with structurally normal hearts require anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy depending on the severity of symptoms or ventricular dysfunction; however, data on efficacy in children are scarce. Both symptomatic and asymptomatic children (≥ 1 year and < 18 years of age) with a PVC burden of 5% or more, with or without asymptomatic runs of VT, who had consecutive Holter recordings, were included in this retrospective multi-center study. The groups of patients receiving AAD therapy were compared to an untreated control group. A medication episode was defined as a timeframe in which the highest dosage at a fixed level of a single drug was used in a patient. A total of 35 children and 46 medication episodes were included, with an overall change in PVC burden on Holter of -4.4 percentage points, compared to -4.2 in the control group of 14 patients. The mean reduction in PVC burden was only significant in patients receiving flecainide (− 13.8 percentage points; N = 10; p = 0.032), compared to the control group and other groups receiving beta-blockers (− 1.7 percentage points; N = 18), sotalol (+ 1.0 percentage points; N = 7), or verapamil (− 3.9 percentage points; N = 11). The efficacy of anti-arrhythmic drug therapy on frequent PVCs or asymptomatic VTs in children is very limited. Only flecainide appears to be effective in lowering the PVC burden.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme da Silva Gasparotto ◽  
Aline Bichels ◽  
Thaynara do Prado Szeremeta ◽  
Gislaine Cristina Vagetti ◽  
Valdomiro de Oliveira

The objective of this study was to verify the association of psychological factors and body practices with the academic performance of high school students. A sample of 330 students participated, made up of 167 girls and 163 boys. Likert scale instruments were used for collecting information on self-concept, and on general and academic self-efficacy. Time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity was recorded, and so was participation in several types of body practices, such as sports, dances, martial arts, performing arts, and systematic physical exercises. Academic achievement was referred to from the students' grades on regular subjects. Linear regression analysis was used for verifying the association of independent variables with academic performance. The adjusted regression model explains between 7% and 36% of academic performance variance, whereas Self-Concept explains academic performance on six of the twelve subjects, and the mean of the grades, with Beta values between 0.13 (p = 0.02) for Sociology and 0.28 (p <0.01) for Mathematics. Academic self-efficacy explained performance on eleven subjects and the mean of the grades, with Beta values between 0.21 (p <0.01) for Physical Education and Philosophy, and 0.44 (p <0.01) for Biology. Participation in extracurricular activities involving body practices explained academic performance on six subjects and the mean of the grades, with Beta values between 0.14 (p = 0.02) for Sociology and 0.31 (p <0.01) for Arts. The studied psychological variables and participation in projects concerning body practices during extracurricular activities correlated with academic achievement as to several school subjects, and with the mean of the grades.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Rosario Padial-Ruz ◽  
Raquel García-Molina ◽  
Esther Puga-González

(1) Background: Linking physical activity to the teaching of curricular contents provides numerous motivational and emotional benefits which improve academic performance and lead to the improvement and creation of healthy habits from an early age. (2) Method: The objective of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of a 5-week intervention program based on the use of a combined methodology of physical activity and gestures on motivation and vocabulary learning in English. The sample of children was aged from 4 to 7 years and was recruited from three children’s centers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. A quasi-experimentalstudy was carried out using a pretest–posttest design in a sample (n = 88). (3) Results: Statistically significant results were obtained in the learning of words through the combined methodology of gestures and motor activity, compared to the traditional methodology used in the control group. (4) Conclusions: The main conclusions are that motor and expressive activities at an early age can be an effective motivational resource that promotes an increase in children’s physical activity time in the classroom. Further, it improves academic performance, producing a more effective learning of the vocabulary of a second language.


2016 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Fritz ◽  
Rachel L. Duckham ◽  
Timo Rantalainen ◽  
Björn E. Rosengren ◽  
Magnus K. Karlsson ◽  
...  

1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 986-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
B G Simons-Morton ◽  
G S Parcel ◽  
T Baranowski ◽  
R Forthofer ◽  
N M O'Hara

Author(s):  
Anastácio Neco de Souza Filho ◽  
Thaynã Alves Bezerra ◽  
Paulo Felipe Ribeiro Bandeira ◽  
Luciana Gatto Azevedo Cabral ◽  
José Fernando Vila Nova de Moraes ◽  
...  

This study aimed to determine the effects of a school-based multi-component intervention on accelerometer- measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in schoolchildren overweight. This is a randomized controlled study with overweight schoolchildren, allocated to experimental group (EG; n = 13; 7.6 ± 0.8 years; 42.9% boys) and control group (CG; n = 17; 8.2 ± 0.9 years; 26.7% boys). The EG was submitted to a 10-week school-based intervention, comprised of PA and psychological sessions (behavioral therapy), and nutritional guidance. The CG followed the daily routine of life. The time of PA and SB were measured using accelerometers used for seven days. To compare mean SB, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and total physical activity (TPA), generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used. It was observed that the average time in MVPA and TPA increased significantly in EG at the weekend (+ 40.9 min / day, p < 0.001; and + 51.6 min/day, p = 0.035, respectively) and at full week (+ 62.9 min/day, p < 0.001; and + 225.0 9 min/day, p = 0.038, respectively). There was no significant difference in time spent in SB after the intervention in both groups. Thus, it was concluded that the proposed school-based multicomponent intervention was effective in increasing levels of MVPA and TPA in overweight schoolchildren. This finding can optimize future interventions to promote a healthy lifestyle for schoolchildren in the school environment.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document