Effects Of Physical Activity On Academic Performance In Children

ObjectiveThe effect of physical activity and academic performance is receiving considerable attention,yet the evidence from Chinese population is very rare.The purpose of this study is to answer the following questions:1)What is the level of physical activity in Shanghai primary school students?2)What is the relationship between physical activity and academic performance,and how is it mediated by social emotional competencies?3)What kind of school based intervention would be effective to improve students' academic performance in China?The answer to these questions will increase the public awareness of physical activity and provide scientific evidence in health education and promotion by Chinese government.MethodThis study took two steps.1)A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 17318 children aged 6-11 in Shanghai primary schools.Participants were selected by stratified randomized sampling and information of physical activity,social emotional competencies,academic performance and others was collected.2)A quasi-experiment was carried out in a high school in Yangpu District,Shanghai.Students' physical fitness,examination scores and physical education(PE)curriculum was collected retrospectively.ResultShanghai primary school students spent an average of 93.9 min per day in moderate to vigorous physical activity(MVPA).38.4%of students failed to meet the requirements of spending at least one hour in MVPA as the guidelines recommend.MVPA was positively associated with academic performance(Coefficient=0.50,95%CI:[0.28,0.72]).However,the effect of MVPA on academic performance was different for different duration of screen time.The marginal effect of MVPA on academic performance decreased with the increase of screen time.MVPA was also significantly associated with social emotional competencies.Compared to students who spent less than 1 hour/day in MVPA,1-2 hours daily MVPA was significantly associated with lower odds of poor social emotional competencies(OR= 0.75,95%CI:[0.63,0.88]),and over 2 hours daily MVPA was significantly associated with even lower odds of poor social emotional competencies(OR?0.65,95%CI:[0.52,0.82]).Moreover,social emotional competencies mediated 30%of the total effect of MVPA on academic performance.In the retrospective study in the high school,we found that students' physical fitness in the first term of grade 3 predicted their college entrance examination scores.In the quasi-experiment,we found the physical education reform increased students' overall test scores.And more PE lessons were associated with higher increase of academic scores.No difference was found between physical fitness oriented and motor skill oriented PE lessons on students' academic scores.ConclusionThis study found that children's MVPA would not compromise but even is positively associated with academic performance.When advocating the importance of children's physical activity,excessive screen exposure should also be limited.Besides for the effect of physical activity on cognitive functions,social emotional competencies may also be one of the pathways of how MVPA improves academic performance.Our study in the high school proved the feasibility of carrying out school based physical activity intervention in Chinese students,and appropriate physical activity interventions would serve as a promising strategy to achieve a win-win situation on children's health and academic performance.