Physical Activity, Fitness, and Cognitive Function in Children and Adolescents

From the playground to youth sports, the benefits of physical activity for children and adolescents are primarily known. Less understood is how participation influences cognitive function at different stages of development. This chapter aims to summarize the literature on child and adolescent physical activity, fitness, and cognitive performance by translating empirical research to school and community settings. The specific effects of physical activity vary by intensity, mode, volume, and domain. This review suggested that physical activity and fitness were positively associated with higher cognitive function. Children who are aerobically fit and regularly physically activite are faster, more accurate responders and tend to do better in school. Participation in light to vigorous intensity physical activity cognitively benefits children. Additional benefits come from cognitively demanding (e.g., team sports) and vigorously intense (e.g., jumping rope) activities. Because benefit varies by physical fitness component and physical activity type, it is recommended that preschool children participate in an assortment of movements for 3 h a day, working up to 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by age 6. Comprehensive approaches across multiple settings, offering opportunities to participate in physical activity, have the most significant potential for enhancing cognitive health among children and adolescents

Contextualizing physical literacy in the school environment: The challenges

AbstractThe intent of this paper is to conceptualize physical literacy in the school environment within the United States educational system. Evolution of physical literacy from both a general education and disciplinary focus is overviewed. The challenges of transitioning from a physically educated to a physically literate person as the primary learning outcome of physical education may inhibit progress. Five prioritized recommendations are made to assist teachers in overcoming such barriers: (a) whole of school approach, (b) effective, differentiated pedagogy, (c) integration of technology for individualized tracking of progress, (d) supportive school climate, and (e) alignment of local efforts with national initiatives

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Characteristics of Trained Teachers

As public health concerns about physical inactivity and childhood obesity continue to rise, researchers are calling for interventions that comprehensively lead to more opportunities to participate in physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and attitudes of trained physical education teachers during the implementation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program at the elementary level. Using a collective case study design, interviews, observations, field notes, open-ended survey questions, and an online forum monitoring guided the interpretation of teacher perceptions and development of emergent themes. Qualitative data analysis was conducted for each individual teacher and then across the ten teachers which produced four major themes: (a) Leading the Charge: Ready, Set, Go!, (b) Adoption versus Adaptation: Implementation Varies, (c) Social Media’s Place in the Professional Development (PD) Community, and (d) Keys to Successful Implementation. It can be concluded that, based on these findings, elementary physical education teachers are ready and willing to implement CSPAP. Key factors that may influence this implementation are discussed

Comparing the Effects of Traditional Physical Activity and Active Video Gaming on Children’s Cognition

While the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognition are well studied, there is less certainty about how to incorporate cognition-boosting physical activity programs in children’s academic settings. Multiple modalities may be implemented to get children moving, yet more clarity is needed to make these programs as effective as possible. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of traditional teacher-led physical activity (TPA) and active video gaming (AVG) on various measures of executive function to gain applicable knowledge that informs school physical activity programs. METHODS: Using a counterbalanced design, 36 preadolescent children (24 male, 10.17±1.59 years old) participated in 20 minutes of TPA (teacher-led aerobic dance and calisthenics) and 20 minutes of AVG (Xbox 360 Kinect Dance Central and adventure games) over a 2-day period. Stroop and Trail Making Tests (TMT) were used to assess inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility at baseline and post-intervention. Actigraph GT3X and Polar heart rate monitors were used to estimate energy expenditure. A paired-sample t-test was used to analyze the difference in caloric consumption between interventional modalities. Repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis were used to analyze differences between baseline and post intervention testing for Stroop (word, color, and color-word conditions), Stroop interference score, and to compare the difference in performance of TMT (TMT-A and TMT-B conditions) between interventional sessions. RESULTS: TPA had a higher caloric consumption and step count per minute than AVG (p\u3c0.01). Compared to baseline, there was a significant improvement in accuracy on the Stroop Test for both intervention modalities (p\u3c0.001), although there was no difference between intervention groups. There was also no significant difference in interference score between baseline and post interventions. For the TMT, we found an interaction between intervention and TMT condition (p\u3c.01). Pairwise comparisons revealed that TPA induced a faster reaction time than AVG for the more difficult TMT condition (TMT-B; p\u3c.01), but there was no significant difference in reaction time for the easy TMT condition (TMT-A) between intervention modalities. CONCLUSION: Participating in physical activity, regardless of modality, improves inhibitory control as reflected by the increased behavioral accuracy in all conditions of the Stroop test, but not conflict processing as measured by the Stroop interference score. Cognitive flexibility, as measured by the Trail Making Test, is best enhanced by traditional physical activity compared to active video gaming, but only when the behavioral task is difficult. TPA also resulted in a higher caloric expenditure than AVG

Relationship between health risk and school attendance among adolescents

Background/Purpose: The prevalence of childhood obesity and school truancy are contemporary health issues, as millions of children do not attend school, when required. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between intent to be physically active, aerobic fitness, and school absences. Methods: Data from 1907 adolescents from the United States were collected during physical education. Participants completed a valid Theory of Planned Behavior survey and the FitnessGram, with the demographic data obtained from school records. Linear regressions controlling for gender, grade, free/reduced lunch, body mass index, and intent to be physically active were calculated. Results: Adolescents who had positive intentions to be physically active (P \u3c .001), scored higher on the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test (P = .006), and ran faster in the mile (P \u3c .001) had fewer unexcused absences compared to students who had negative intentions and lower fitness. Discussion: Adolescents with higher aerobic fitness had fewer unexcused school absences, which suggests that cardiovascular health may be a valuable contributor in decreasing adolescent health and behavior risk, specifically truancy and out-of-school suspensions. Translation to Health Education Practice: Whole-of-school approaches that align physical activities and educational experiences can help adolescents understand the benefits of physical fitness as a prevention strategy

Implementation Evaluation of a Professional Development Program for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Leaders

The purpose of this study was to conduct an implementation monitoring evaluation of a yearlong comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development program across eight multi-state physical education (PE) teacher cohorts. Mixed-method data were collected during a three-year implementation period via workshop attendance sheets and evaluations, post-workshop implementation plans and artifacts, and follow-up phone interviews to enumerate and evaluate the program’s process of recruitment, reach, dose delivered, dose received, fidelity, and context. Recruitment strategies reached a total of 234 PE teacher attendees across eight workshops, with 77 PE teachers (primarily female, elementary, public school teachers) completing all program requirements. Facilitators among full program completers were participation incentives and network opportunities, while common inhibitors were difficulty with online technology and perceptions of added workload. Completers submitted implementation plans with at least three action steps, ranging from 4 to 7 months to accomplish, that predominately commenced with securing administration approval as the first step (81%), focused on implementing student physical activity initiatives beyond PE (76%), and evidenced with mostly picture artifacts (78%). Implementation was facilitated by the presence of multilevel support at school and an elevated image of PE and PE teachers at school, and was inhibited by scheduling constraints, unrealistic planning, and conflicting perceptions of physical activity and PE. Overall, this evaluation reveals unique perspectives of PE teachers regarding schoolwide PA promotion and informs future efforts to target and effectively support CSPAP leaders

The Application of an Implementation Science Framework to Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Be a Champion!

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) have been endorsed as a promising strategy to increase youth physical activity (PA) in school settings. A CSPAP is a five-component approach, which includes opportunities before, during, and after school for PA. Extensive resources are available to public health practitioners and school officials regarding what should be implemented, but little guidance and few resources are available regarding how to effectively implement a CSPAP. Implementation science provides a number of conceptual frameworks that can guide implementation of a CSPAP, but few published studies have employed an implementation science framework to a CSPAP. Therefore, we developed Be a Champion! (BAC), which represents a synthesis of implementation science strategies, modified for application to CSPAPs implementation in schools while allowing for local tailoring of the approach. This article describes BAC while providing examples from the implementation of a CSPAP in three rural elementary schools