Research Summary: Effect of Physical Activity and Aerobic Fitness on Academic Achievement

The effect of physical activity and aerobic fitness on academic achievement was tested in a study by Donelly et al. The study evaluated the associations of physical and aerobic fitness with children's academic achievement among a sample of 687 second and third grade students from 17 elementary schools in northeast Kansas. In order to assess academic achievement, Donelly et al. used five subtests from the Weschsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition(WIAT-III). The subtests selected were reading comprehension, oral reading fluency, spelling, mathematics problem solving, and numerical operations. The pairs of reading and math subtests each formed a composite score using the WIAT-III computerized scoring assistant. The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run(PACER) was utilized to test aerobic fitness. The PACER is a test in which participants must run back and forth across 20-meters under a time constraint. As the duration of the test increased, the initially lax time constraint quickened. The test ended for a student when he or she failed to cross the 20-meter distance in time on two occasions. The total number of laps completed was interpreted as aerobic fitness. Higher laps completed on the PACER indicated higher aerobic fitness levels. In order to measure physical activity, students wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ portable accelerometer that measured acceleration by generating an electrical signal proportional to the force acting on it along three axes. The data obtained from the accelerometer are stored in the device’s internal memory in one second intervals and are known as ‘activity counts'. Activity counts, which were collected and summarized in 60 second periods using ActiGraph technology, reflected the duration and intensity of physical activity during a given sampling period. Through statistical analysis, Donelly et al found no significant correlation between physical activity, aerobic fitness, and academic achievement in children.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211996/