Acute physical activity has a positive effect on attention in preadolescent children (g = 0.43)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i2 Single bouts of acute physical activity improve attention in preadolescent children, with a pooled effect of g = 0.43 across 6 studies. → de Greeff 2018
Evidence¶
de Greeff 2018¶
de Greeff, J. W., Bosker, R. J., Oosterlaan, J., Visscher, C., & Hartman, E. (2018). Effects of physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance in preadolescent children: a meta-analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(5), 501-507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.09.595
q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2
Meta-analysis pooling 6 acute physical activity intervention studies in children aged 6-12. The review reports "a positive effect on attention (g = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.77; 6 studies)". The confidence interval excludes zero but the effect is small.
"Acute physical activity has a positive effect on attention (g = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.77; 6 studies)"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Evidence for effects of acute bouts of physical activity on children's attention is weak and inconclusive — reports the opposite
- Longitudinal physical activity programs show a positive effect on attention in preadolescent children (g = 0.90), based on a single study
- Age may moderate acute PA effects on attention: effects appeared for 9–10 year olds but not 7–8 year olds — related
- Duration and intensity of PA bouts may moderate attention effects, consistent with an inverted-U hypothesis — related
- Type of PA may moderate acute effects: coordinative exercises outperformed a normal PE lesson of the same intensity — related
- Two 20-min MVPA bouts in a school morning yielded better selective attention than one bout or remaining seated (B = −0.26; 95% CI (−0.52, −0.00)) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
acute-physical-activity-improves-attention-preadolescents |
title |
Acute physical activity has a positive effect on attention in preadolescent children (g = 0.43) |
description |
Acute physical activity has a positive effect on attention in preadolescent children (g = 0.43) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2018 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — de-greeff-2018 |
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