Lit Review: Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children

Criteria: This is a comprehensive review of the literature with clearly stated methodology. First published as a special communication from the American College of Sports Medicine, it represents a position by that organization. It has been widely disseminated (13 versions) and cited by 1773.

Key Takeaway: Dive into this thorough review of research investigating the powerful correlation between physical activity and students’ cognitive performance, learning capabilities, and brain functionality. Despite inherent limitations in some of the studies, the overarching consensus reveals physical activity’s positive effects on cognition and academic success and endorses its pivotal role in the healthy development of 5- to 13-year-olds. Pay particular attention to compelling insights regarding the influence of physically active lessons on students’ task engagement and time spent on task.

Summation and insights:

The authors reviewed primary source peer-reviewed studies published in English from 1990 to 2014 through the examination of two research questions.  First, among 5- to 13-year-old students, do physical activity and physical fitness influence cognition, learning, brain structure, and brain function, and second, do physical activity, physical exercise, and sports programs influence standardized achievement test performance, and concentration and attention?

This review is well-organized with a dedicated section for each facet of the research questions that provides a literature summary, type of study, and the study quality.  While the authors noted the limitations of the design of many of the studies, a lack of random controlled trials, and failures to control for possible bias, they do conclude that the studies did show that physical activity had positive effects on cognition and academic achievement and overall support for the importance of physical activity for the health and physical development of children. 

Although the overall summaries are appropriately cautious, readers will find reports of specific studies that have direct implications for classroom instruction. One such area is found in studies that address the impact of physically active lessons on time on task. 

The authors’ abstract provides a clear, complete, and concise view of the study.

Resource:  https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2016/06000/Physical_Activity,_Fitness,_Cognitive_Function,.27.aspx

Source:
Donnelly, J. E., Hillman, C. H., Castelli, D., Etnier, J. L., Lee, S., Tomporowski, P., Lambourne, K., & Szabo-Reed, A. N. (2016). Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 48(6), 1197–1222.