Physical fitness and academic performance in youth: A systematic review

Abstract

Physical fitness (PF) is a construct of health‐ and skill‐related attributes which have been associated with academic performance (AP) in youth. This study aimed to review the scientific evidence on the association among components of PF and AP in children and adolescents. A systematic review of articles using databases PubMed/Medline, ERIC, LILACS, SciELO, and Web of Science was undertaken. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies examining the association between at least one component of PF and AP in children and adolescents, published between 1990 and June 2016, were included. Independent extraction of articles was carried out by the two authors using predefined data fields. From a total of 45 studies included, 25 report a positive association between components of PF with AP and 20 describe a single association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and AP. According to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines: 12 were classified as low, 32 as medium risk, and 1 as high risk of bias. Thirty‐one studies reported a positive association between AP and CRF, six studies with muscular strength, three studies with flexibility, and seven studies reported a positive association between clustered of PF components and AP. The magnitude of the associations is weak to moderate (β = 0.10–0.42 and odds = 1.01–4.14). There is strong evidence for a positive association between CRF and cluster of PF with AP in cross‐sectional studies; and evidence from longitudinal studies for a positive association between cluster of PF and AP; the relationship between muscular strength and flexibility with AP remains uncertain.

Effect of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Academic Achievement is Stronger in High‐SES Elementary Schools Compared to Low

“…The overall positive relationship between school‐level cardiorespiratory fitness performance and scores on academic tests for all participants is consistent with previous results at the individual and school level. School‐level studies from Texas similarly found a positive association between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement, controlling for SES and BMI .…”

“…Schools in the United States are under pressure to boost academic achievement, as school funding and autonomy depend upon meeting school‐level academic standards . In light of the encouraging fitness‐academics body of literature, promoting physical fitness in schools could be a viable strategy to meet academic targets. It may be inappropriate, however, to infer that the fitness‐academics pattern observed at the student level is the same as the pattern at the school level, due to potential for the atomistic fallacy, or inappropriate inference that individual‐level patterns hold at the group level .…”

“…Results demonstrated that BMI was neither a strong confounder nor a strong mediator at the school level. Finally, this analysis examined the relationship between fitness and academic achievement in 5 subject areas, which favors the conclusion of a consistent effect rather than random variation; many previous studies only examined reading or math …”

“…School‐level studies from Texas similarly found a positive association between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement, controlling for SES and BMI . This finding may represent a composition effect, in which schools with more physically fit students also have higher test scores, due to the potential relationship between physical fitness and academic performance at the individual level . However, it may also represent a school‐level contextual effect, in which characteristics of the school environment improve student fitness overall and, through that, test scores.…”

Actividad Física Como Estrategia Educativa Para Mejorar El Rendimiento Escolar

“…Usamos regresiones lineales múltiples ajustando por edad, sexo, índice de masa corporal y nivel de estudios de las madres, para observar la relación entre cada componente de condición física, y el rendimiento escolar. Nuestros hallazgos van en la línea de la literatura previa, y muestran que una mayor condición física se asocia con mejor rendimiento escolar (Santana et al, 2016). La práctica de AF aumenta la producción de irisina en el músculo, una proteína que es clave para el cerebro y el aprendizaje.…”