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SummaryBackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is beneficial for cognitive and brain health during preadolescence. Given that childhood obesity (OB) is a public health concern, investigating this effect in children with OB is an important societal consideration.ObjectivesTo identify the effects of weight status and PA on neuroelectric indices of executive function in preadolescence.MethodsChildren were randomly assigned to a PA intervention or a wait‐list control group and completed a task that manipulated inhibitory control, while task performance and neuroelectric (P3 component) outcomes were assessed. About 103 children with OB were matched to a sample of 103 normal weight (NW) children based on treatment allocation and demographic variables.ResultsChildren with OB in the control group demonstrated reduced P3 amplitude from pre‐ to post‐test, meanwhile those with OB in the PA intervention maintained P3 amplitude at post‐test compared to pre‐test. Additionally, NW children in the PA intervention group showed that decreased visceral adipose tissue corresponded with faster task performance, a relationship not observed in children with OB.ConclusionsThese results suggest that a 9‐month PA intervention may be particularly beneficial to the cognitive and brain health of children with OB. These results are important to consider given the public health concerns associated with childhood OB.

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The prevalence of physical inactivity in children has become a global pandemic and has consequences for physical, as well as cognitive and brain, health. Single bouts of physical activity (PA), however, have shown a transient, positive effect on cognitive performance in preadolescent children. Acute bouts of moderate to vigorous PA have demonstrated benefits for cognition, including attention and executive function. These acute effects of PA on cognitive performance can be seen both immediately after and following a delay from the cessation of PA. Further, event-related potentials have been used to delineate real-time neural responses to behavioral tasks after PA interventions. A short bout of moderate-intensity aerobic PA serves to increase the allocation of attentional resources and improved cognitive processing and stimulus classification speed. As such, there are implications for evaluating the effect of PA within schools. Several neural mechanisms are suggested to explain the observed improvements in executive function after PA, such as the importance of brain-derived neurotrophic factor on synaptogenesis, the expression of human growth factors, the activated release of catecholamines, and increased blood lactate levels. The ensuing descriptive review demonstrates the current understanding of the effects of acute PA on childhood brain and cognition and may serve as a basis for understanding PA-induced improvements in academic achievement.

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