Muscular and Aerobic Fitness, Working Memory, and Academic Achievement in Children

PURPOSEThis study investigated the relationship between aerobic and muscular fitness with working memory and academic achievement in preadolescent children. METHODSSeventy-nine 9- to 11-yr-old children completed an aerobic fitness assessment using a graded exercise test; a muscular fitness assessmen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medicine and science in sports and exercise 2017-03, Vol.49 (3), p.500-508
Main Authors: KAO, SHIH-CHUN, WESTFALL, DANIEL R, PARKS, ANDREW C, PONTIFEX, MATTHEW B, HILLMAN, CHARLES H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement
Child
Cognition - physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Physical Fitness - physiology
Physical Fitness - psychology
Reaction Time
Task Performance and Analysis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:PURPOSEThis study investigated the relationship between aerobic and muscular fitness with working memory and academic achievement in preadolescent children. METHODSSeventy-nine 9- to 11-yr-old children completed an aerobic fitness assessment using a graded exercise test; a muscular fitness assessment consisting of upper body, lower body, and core exercises; a serial n-back task to assess working memory; and an academic achievement test of mathematics and reading. RESULTSHierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for demographic variables (age, sex, grade, IQ, socioeconomic status), aerobic fitness was associated with greater response accuracy and d′ in the 2-back condition and increased mathematic performance in algebraic functions. Muscular fitness was associated with increased response accuracy and d′, and longer reaction time in the 2-back condition. Further, the associations of muscular fitness with response accuracy and d′ in the 2-back condition were independent of aerobic fitness. CONCLUSIONThe current findings suggest the differential relationships between the aerobic and the muscular aspects of physical fitness with working memory and academic achievement. With the majority of research focusing on childhood health benefits of aerobic fitness, this study suggests the importance of muscular fitness to cognitive health during preadolescence.
ISSN:0195-9131
1530-0315
DOI:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001132