Physical fitness and executive functions in adolescents: cross-sectional associations with academic achievement.
José Cancela, Helier Burgo, Estefania Sande
PMID 31417221WHAT IT FOUND
Several fitness scores related to school grades and some executive-function scores in 713 adolescents.
Balance did not relate to grades, and this cannot show fitness improves grades.
Key findings
01Resistance strength (r=0.41), explosive strength (r=0.32), agility and speed (r=-0.30 and r=0.33), aerobic endurance (r=0.49 and r=0.49), and flexibility (r=0.37 and r=0.35) were associated with academic achievement; balance was not (r=0.21, p>0.05).
02Academic achievement was associated with inhibition/interference (r=0.25), working memory (r=0.10 and r=0.19), and processing speed (r=-0.180), but not with cognitive flexibility (r=-0.17) or social skills (r=0.13).
03Executive-function domains showed scattered associations with fitness: inhibition/interference was associated with resistance strength and balance, working memory with the Sit and reach and Back Scratch tests, cognitive flexibility with resistance strength and agility/speed, and social skills with resistance strength.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether fitness influences executive function and grades or whether grades and cognition influence fitness. The paper reports many correlations and regression associations across fitness tests and executive-function domains; some were null, and it does not state a single primary outcome. Of 1,026 randomly selected students, 713 were analysed after 12.1% did not complete questionnaires, 7.9% did not perform physical tests, and 8.7% had no signed consent; the analysed sample may differ from those excluded. Participants were school students in five centres in Galicia, not a clinical patient group. Academic achievement was a school-record average of six subjects from a single trimester, which may not reflect long-term performance. The authors state these data should be interpreted with caution because few studies link fitness components and executive functions.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest and state the research did not receive a specific grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving physical fitness will improve executive function or school grades. This was a cross-sectional study, so it measured associations at one time and cannot show cause and effect.