Association Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in a Cohort of Danish School Pupils

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Time spent on physical activity in elementary school has been altered to improve core academics. However, little is known about the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. We examined the association between physical fitness and academic achievement and in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of school health 2016-09, Vol.86 (9), p.686-695
Main Authors: Andersen, Mikkel P., Mortensen, Rikke N., Vardinghus-Nielsen, Henrik, Franch, Jesper, Torp-Pedersen, Christian, Bøggild, Henrik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Academic staff
Achievement
Adolescent
Adolescents
Associations
cardiovascular health
Correlation
Denmark
Educational Attainment
Educational Status
Effect Size
Elementary Education
Elementary school students
Elementary Schools
Ethnic Groups
Ethnicity
Family Income
Female
Females
Fitness
Foreign Countries
Gender Differences
Girls
Humanities
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Males
Measurement Equipment
Minority & ethnic groups
Nursing
Oxygen consumption
Parent socioeconomic status
Parents
Parents & parenting
Physical activity
Physical Fitness
physical fitness and sport
Pupils
Registers
Regression (Statistics)
Regression analysis
Regression models
Scores
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic Status
socioeconomic status and health
Socioeconomics
Statistical analysis
Students
Tests
Time use
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Summary:ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Time spent on physical activity in elementary school has been altered to improve core academics. However, little is known about the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. We examined the association between physical fitness and academic achievement and investigated the influence of parental socioeconomic status and ethnicity. METHODS Participants were 542 girls and 577 boys aged 13 to 15 residing in the Danish municipality of Aalborg. A watt‐max cycle ergometer test was completed to evaluate physical fitness as represented by VO2max (mL·kg−1·min−1). Academic achievement was measured 1 school year later through a series of mandatory exams within the humanities, sciences, and all obligatory defined exams. Parental income and education were drawn from nationwide registers. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association. RESULTS Adjusting for ethnicity and parental socioeconomic status, the effect size of the humanities was 0.08 grad/VO2max (95% Cl: 0.05 to 0.11) for girls and 0.06 grad/VO2max (95% Cl:0.03 to 0.08) for boys. The effect size of the sciences was 0.09 grad/VO2max (95% Cl:0.05 to 0.13) for girls and 0.06 grad/VO2max (95% Cl:0.03 to 0.09) for boys. The effect size of the defined exams was 0.09 grad/VO2max (95% Cl:0.06 to 0.11) for girls and 0.06 grad/VO2max (95% Cl:0.03 to 0.08) for boys. CONCLUSION We found a statistically significant positive association between physical fitness and academic achievement after adjusting for ethnicity and parental socioeconomic status.
ISSN:0022-4391
1746-1561
DOI:10.1111/josh.12422