Systematic review of physical activity and cognitive development in early childhood

The effect of before school physical activity on child development: A study protocol to evaluate the Build Our Kids Success (BOKS) Program

“…Because research suggests that physical activity contributes to optimal brain health [8][9][10][11][12]17], this proposal to investigate before-school bouts of physical activity of children is novel and necessary to understand the overall effect of physical activity, as well as, implications of timing (e.g., before school) and dose (e.g., number of sessions per week) on physical health, mental health, cognitive capacity, and academic performance. Moreover, this investigation will give insight into the perceptions of the parents and teachers on health outcomes.…”

“…Indeed, recent studies indicate that increases in physical activity have a positive effect on aspects of child cognition and cognitive development [8][9][10] executive control [11], memory [12], and academic achievement [13]. Further research indicates that greater physical activity may decrease symptoms of childhood mental health issues, such as ADHD [14,15] and depression [16], and increase psychosocial wellbeing [17].…”

Low-Cost, Scalable Classroom-Based Approach to Promoting Physical Activity in Preschool Children

“…The consensus is that these types of breaks enhance learning [25] and we confirmed this in our study. Interestingly, a greater dose of activity would not be predicted to provide a greater improvement in learning [26].…”

“…School-based interventions in pre-school children are often poorly validated using untested techniques and uncontrolled study designs [24,26]. We applied a controlled design, robust technologies and established evaluation methodologies.…”

The Preschool Activity, Technology, Health, Adiposity, Behaviour and Cognition (PATH-ABC) cohort study: rationale and design

“…Remarkably, children’s ability in mathematics improved despite the fact they received no direct instruction in this area. Nevertheless, the influence of physical activity on cognition and executive function in young children is not well established [8]. Consequently, it remains unclear if physical activity aids cognitive development in early childhood, and if so, how much physical activity, of what intensity, and which types might be required for optimal development.…”