The relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement among adolescent in South Korea.
Gun-Soo Han
PMID 29706716WHAT IT FOUND
Better physical fitness was linked to higher final exam scores across subjects in 236 South Korean middle school students.
This link was not tested in a trial, so it does not show exercise improves grades.
Key findings
01Higher physical fitness was significantly associated with higher final exam scores.
02The association was significant for every final exam subject analysed.
03Most students were rated high or very high physical fitness, and no student was rated very low.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study analysed 236 students after 64 of 300 selected students were removed because fitness or exam data were missing. It measured fitness and exam scores at one time, so it cannot show that fitness caused higher grades or that exercise changed grades. It used a single comprehensive PAPS grade rather than analysing each fitness component separately. It included only five fitness components: cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscle strength or endurance, power, and BMI. Students came from three middle schools in one South Korean city, so results may not apply elsewhere. The analysis was a simple correlation and did not test whether other factors explained the link.
Declared interests
This research was supported by the Daegu University Research Grant in 2015. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that exercise or physical education improves academic achievement. This study measured fitness grades and exam scores at one time and only found an association; it did not assign students to an activity or training program.