Physical Activity, Aerobic Fitness and Academic Achievement

ObjectiveThis report aimed to systematically review the evidence for a differential association between objective and self-reported physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness on academic achievement.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesStudies were identified from searches in Embase, Education Resources Information Center, PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTdiscus and Web of Science databases from January 2000 to December 2016.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesEligibility criteria included cross-sectional, longitudinal and interventional study designs. Outcomes included students’ school grade or a standardised test or measure of academic achievement. Explanatory variables were cardiorespiratory fitness and objective and self-reported physical activity. Inclusion criteria included school-aged children and adolescents aged–18 years (or students from primary to secondary school when student’s participants age was not described) and articles published in English, Portuguese or Spanish.ResultsA total of 51 articles met inclusion criteria: 41 cross-sectional, 2 intervention and 8 longitudinal studies. Results from 11 studies were inconsistent regarding the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement. Ten of the 16 articles reported positive associations between self-reported physical activity and academic achievement. From the 22 studies that analysed the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement, it was verified that they all generally support the beneficial effect of cardiorespiratory fitness on students’ academic achievement.ConclusionHigher cardiorespiratory fitness may be important to enhance children and adolescents’ health and, additionally, academic achievement. Due to a lack of consensus across studies, methodological issues associated with the assessment of physical activity should be considered when investigating physical activity and academic achievement.

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Female rats selectively bred for high intrinsic aerobic fitness are protected from ovariectomy-associated metabolic dysfunction

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.00401.2014 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 308 (6) ◽

pp. R530-R542 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Victoria J. Vieira-Potter ◽

Jaume Padilla ◽

Young-Min Park ◽

Rebecca J. Welly ◽

Rebecca J. Scroggins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Insulin Resistance ◽

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Energy Expenditure ◽

Aerobic Fitness ◽

Resting Energy Expenditure ◽

Female Rats ◽

Metabolic Dysfunction ◽

Spontaneous Physical Activity ◽

Resting Energy

Ovariectomized rodents model human menopause in that they rapidly gain weight, reduce spontaneous physical activity (SPA), and develop metabolic dysfunction, including insulin resistance. How contrasting aerobic fitness levels impacts ovariectomy (OVX)-associated metabolic dysfunction is not known. Female rats selectively bred for high and low intrinsic aerobic fitness [high-capacity runners (HCR) and low-capacity runners (LCR), respectively] were maintained under sedentary conditions for 39 wk. Midway through the observation period, OVX or sham (SHM) operations were performed providing HCR-SHM, HCR-OVX, LCR-SHM, and LCR-OVX groups. Glucose tolerance, energy expenditure, and SPA were measured before and 4 wk after surgery, while body composition via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and adipose tissue distribution, brown adipose tissue (BAT), and skeletal muscle phenotype, hepatic lipid content, insulin resistance via homeostatic assessment model of insulin resistance and AdipoIR, and blood lipids were assessed at death. Remarkably, HCR were protected from OVX-associated increases in adiposity and insulin resistance, observed only in LCR. HCR rats were ∼30% smaller, had ∼70% greater spontaneous physical activity (SPA), consumed ∼10% more relative energy, had greater skeletal muscle proliferator-activated receptor coactivator 1-alpha, and ∼40% more BAT. OVX did not increase energy intake and reduced SPA to the same extent in both HCR and LCR. LCR were particularly affected by an OVX-associated reduction in resting energy expenditure and experienced a reduction in relative BAT; resting energy expenditure correlated positively with BAT across all animals ( r = 0.6; P < 0.001). In conclusion, despite reduced SPA following OVX, high intrinsic aerobic fitness protects against OVX-associated increases in adiposity and insulin resistance. The mechanism may involve preservation of resting energy expenditure.

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The Association Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Dutch Adolescents: Findings From the GOALS Study

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.2014-0014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 460-473 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Martin L. Van Dijk ◽

Renate H.M. De Groot ◽

Hans H.C.M. Savelberg ◽

Frederik Van Acker ◽

Paul A. Kirschner

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Mathematics Performance ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Physical Activity Volume ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Objectively Measured ◽

Objectively Measured Physical Activity

The main goal of this study was to investigate the association between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents. Students in Grades 7 and 9 (N = 255) were included. Overall, we found no significant dose–response association between physical activity and academic achievement. However, in Grade 7 total physical activity volume (Total PA) was negatively associated with academic achievement, while moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively associated with both academic achievement and mathematics performance. In contrast, in Grade 9 both Total PA and MVPA were positively associated with mathematics performance. In addition, the overall association between MVPA and academic achievement followed an inverted U-shaped curve. Finally, Total PA was positively associated with executive functioning, while executive functioning in turn mediated the associations between Total PA and both academic achievement and mathematics performance. These results indicate that the association between physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents is complex and might be affected by academic year, physical activity volume and intensity, and school grade.

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Relationship Between Attainment of Recommended Physical Activity Guidelines and Academic Achievement: Undergraduate Students in Egypt

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v6n5p274 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Walid El Ansari ◽

Christiane Stock

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Physical Activity Guidelines ◽

Recommended Physical Activity

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Physical activity – academic achievement: student and teacher perspectives on the ‘new’ nexus

Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy ◽

10.1080/17408989.2013.769510 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 436-449 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Doune Macdonald ◽

Rebecca Abbott ◽

lisahunter ◽

Peter Hay ◽

Louise McCuaig

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Teacher Perspectives

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Habitual physical activity is not associated with lower cardiovascular risk profile or higher aerobic fitness

Manual Therapy Posturology & Rehabilitation Journal ◽

10.17784/mtprehabjournal.2016.14.429 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Denis Fabrício Valério ◽

Arthur Fernandes Gáspari ◽

Giovana Vergínea de Souza ◽

Cleiton Augusto Libardi ◽

Claudia Regina Cavaglieri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Aerobic Fitness ◽

Physical Inactivity ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

Risk Profile ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Profile ◽

Vo2 Max

Introduction: Physical inactivity is considered as one of the factors to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and decrease aerobic fitness mainly in middle-age. Increased habitual physical activity (HPA) is one of the strategies recommended to reduce physical inactivity. However, it is not known whether middle-age individuals who exclusively perform greater amount of HPA have greater aerobic fitness and / or a lower risk of CVDs. Objective: Verify the association between HPA with the risk of CVDs and aerobic fitness in individuals who only perform HPA. Method: We selected 89 male volunteers, age: 47.4 ± 5.06 years, who did not practice systemized physical training. Our measurements were: HPA by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Baecke questionnaires, the aerobic fitness by direct assessment of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 máx) and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by the score calculation of General Cardiovascular Risk Profile from Framingham Study. Results: There was no correlation of the HPA level with cardiovascular risk factors, general cardiovascular disease risk and VO2 máx. Moreover, no difference was found between the categorical groups of the IPAQ questionnaire and between the groups, “clusters”, calculated from the Baecke questionnaire scores for the variables of cardiovascular risk, general cardiovascular disease risk and VO2 máx. Conclusion: This study have found that the HPA level of middle-aged men is not associated with lower cardiovascular risk profile or higher aerobic fitness, suggesting that only increase HPA may not be enough to promote beneficial adaptations in aerobic fitness and improve risk profile for CVDs. These results may be related to low volume and intensity of HPA, which reinforces the importance of performing physical training with control of these variables for health promotion.

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