Associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with academic skills--a follow-up study among primary school children

Eero A Haapala, Anna-Maija Poikkeus, Katriina Kukkonen-Harjula, Tuomo Tompuri, Niina Lintu, Juuso Väistö, Paavo H T Leppänen, David E Laaksonen, Virpi Lindi, Timo A Lakka, Eero A Haapala, Anna-Maija Poikkeus, Katriina Kukkonen-Harjula, Tuomo Tompuri, Niina Lintu, Juuso Väistö, Paavo H T Leppänen, David E Laaksonen, Virpi Lindi, Timo A Lakka

Abstract

Background: There are no prospective studies that would have compared the relationships of different types of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) with academic skills among children. We therefore investigated the associations of different types of PA and SB with reading and arithmetic skills in a follow-up study among children.

Methods: The participants were 186 children (107 boys, 79 girls, 6-8 yr) who were followed-up in Grades 1-3. PA and SB were assessed using a questionnaire in Grade 1. Reading fluency, reading comprehension and arithmetic skills were assessed using standardized tests at the end of Grades 1-3.

Results: Among all children more recess PA and more time spent in SB related to academic skills were associated with a better reading fluency across Grades 1-3. In boys, higher levels of total PA, physically active school transportation and more time spent in SB related to academic skills were associated with a better reading fluency across the Grades 1-3. Among girls, higher levels of total PA were related to worse arithmetic skills across Grades 1-3. Moreover, total PA was directly associated with reading fluency and arithmetic skills in Grades 1-3 among girls whose parents had a university degree, whereas these relationships were inverse in girls of less educated parents.

Conclusions: Total PA, physically active school transportation and SB related to academic skills may be beneficial for the development of reading skills in boys, whereas factors that are independent of PA or SB may be more important for academic skills in girls.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01803776.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. The differences in academic skills…
Figure 1. The differences in academic skills in Grades 1–3 between children who were in the upper and lower halves of total physical activity (A) and physically active school transportation (B) in Grade 1 among 107 boys and 79 girls.
The data were adjusted for age, parental education, the PANIC study group (intervention vs. control) from the analyses of covariance with repeated measures. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean (SEM).
Figure 2. Differences in academic skills in…
Figure 2. Differences in academic skills in Grades 1–3 between children who were in the upper and lower halves of sedentary behavior related to academic skills (A and B) and computer use and video game playing (C) in Grade 1 among 107 boys and 79 girls.
Data are from analyses of covariance with repeated measures adjusted for age, parental education and the PANIC study group (intervention vs. control). SB = Sedentary behavior; CVG = Computer use and video game playing; SBAS = Sedentary behavior related to academic skills. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean (SEM).

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Source: PubMed

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