Establishing a Scientific Consensus on the Cognitive Benefits of Physical Activity

Abstract

Research suggests that physical activity can be used as an intervention to increase cognitive function. Yet, there are competing views on the cognitive effects of physical activity and it is not clear what level of consensus exists among researchers in the field. The purpose of this study was two-fold: Firstly, to quantify the scientific consensus by focusing on the relationship between physical activity and cognitive function. Secondly, to investigate if there is a gap between the public’s and scientists’ interpretations of scientific texts on this topic. A two-phase study was performed by including 75 scientists in the first phase and 15 non-scientists in the second phase. Participants were asked to categorize article abstracts in terms of endorsement of the effect of physical activity on cognitive function. Results indicated that there was a 76.1% consensus that physical activity has positive cognitive effects. There was a consistent association between scientists’ and non-scientists’ categorizations, suggesting that both groups perceived abstracts in a similar fashion. Taken together, this study provides the first analysis of its kind to evaluate the level of consensus in almost two decades of research. The present data can be used to inform further research and practice.

Scientists have favorable opinions on immunity certificates but raise concerns regarding fairness and inequality

“…In terms of fairness, about 36.5% of scholars think that issuing immunity certificates will not be fair to those who do not have immunity. 45.5% of the respondents think that immunity certificates will increase inequality in society.…”

“…Our response rate is comparable to other studies with surveys sent to scientists through e-mail lists obtained from academic databases such as Scopus. For example 43 reported a 14.1% response rate from the online survey on public communication with 100,000+ faculty members from 73 land-grant universities 44 ; recorded a response rate of 12% in a web survey study exploring the consensus among scientists on the highly debated topic of climate change and environmental policy, using an email list composed from Scopus 45 ; reported a response rate of 10.3% with a survey distributed to 729 authors via email and social networking sites 46 ; investigated the opinion of scientists on the peer review process from a list of academics at universities ranked highly at the Times Higher Education (THE) university rankings and obtained a response rate of about 5%. We also acknowledge the variation in the response rates across fields (see Supplementary Table 16), ranging from 8.19% (Health Professions) to 19.47% (Economics).…”

Internalized weight bias is associated with perceived exertion and affect during exercise in a sample with higher body weight

“…Physical activity (PA) is a key element of a healthy lifestyle as it is associated with numerous physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits. 1 , 2 The most recent guidelines for Americans state that individuals should aim to achieve at least 150 min (and up to 300 min) of moderate intensity activity each week to achieve health benefits of aerobic PA. 3 , 4 Yet estimates indicate that 35%–50% of American adults are insufficiently active based on self‐reported data. 5 , 6 Studies using objective accelerometer data reflect even lower rates of adherence.…”

Listening to music during indoor cycling elicits higher internal loads during prolonged endurance exercise

“…9 Such improvements in endurance capacity can also benefit exercise therapies for patients with cognitive impairments and neurodegenerative conditions. 10 Listening to the preferred music style during high-intensity exercise can improve motivation and reduce the RPE. 11 Such effects may result from the modulation of emotional states by shifting the internal focus from somatic to external stimuli.…”