Cognitively Engaging Chronic Physical Activity, But Not Aerobic Exercise, Affects Executive Functions in Primary School Children: A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Although the positive effects of different kinds of physical activity (PA) on cognitive functioning have already been demonstrated in a variety of studies, the role of cognitive engagement in promoting children’s executive functions is still unclear. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the effects of two qualitatively different chronic PA interventions on executive functions in primary school children. Children (N = 181) aged between 10 and 12 years were assigned to either a 6-week physical education program with a high level of physical exertion and high cognitive engagement (team games), a physical education program with high physical exertion but low cognitive engagement (aerobic exercise), or to a physical education program with both low physical exertion and low cognitive engagement (control condition). Executive functions (updating, inhibition, shifting) and aerobic fitness (multistage 20-m shuttle run test) were measured before and after the respective condition. Results revealed that both interventions (team games and aerobic exercise) have a positive impact on children’s aerobic fitness (4–5% increase in estimated VO2max). Importantly, an improvement in shifting performance was found only in the team games and not in the aerobic exercise or control condition. Thus, the inclusion of cognitive engagement in PA seems to be the most promising type of chronic intervention to enhance executive functions in children, providing further evidence for the importance of the qualitative aspects of PA.

Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents: a novel combination of a systematic review and recommendations from an expert panel

“…Tasks requiring less executive control were unaffected by the FITKids intervention. Schmidt et al 54 found that in 10- to 12-year-old children the group that participated in a cognitively- and physically-demanding exercise intervention (team games) showed more improvement from pre-test to post-test on cognitive flexibility (ie, being able to shift from one task to another) than the group receiving an aerobic intervention with low cognitive demands or the group receiving standard PE with low physical and low cognitive demands. Performance on the other two executive function subcomponents (ie, updating and inhibition) were similar between groups.…”

Acute Cognitively Engaging Exergame-Based Physical Activity Enhances Executive Functions in Adolescents

“…Adolescents might benefit as cognitive flexibility seems to be prone to positive changes of PA throughout later stages of child development. Therefore, one might speculate that aspects of executive functions which are not yet fully developed (cognitive flexibility) might be easier to change [27]. The relationship between age and the responsiveness to acute PA in terms of benefits on executive functions needs to be explored in future studies.…”

“…To date, only few studies examining cognitive engagement comprised in PA have tried to measure the cognitive challenges of specific PA. Mainly observational data [27,28] or a more general measure of engagement in the activity [8] has been used. However, a subjective rating on the individual level seems to be important in order to consider cognitive overload as a confounding variable.…”

Cognitively and physically demanding exergaming to improve executive functions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised clinical trial

“…A recent study [51] was able to demonstrate that a 6-week, cognitively demanding sports game intervention, but not a pure aerobic exercise intervention, had a positive influence on the cognitive flexibility of primary school children. In order to have the largest possible effect, Moreau and Conway [52] recommend a combined physical and cognitive training programme.…”