Physical exercise has a significant modest positive effect on functional outcomes (executive functions and motor skills) in children with ADHD¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2020 · 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 Across ten studies, physical exercise significantly improved ADHD functional outcomes with a pooled effect size of g = 0.627. → Vysniauske 2020
Evidence¶
Vysniauske 2020¶
Vysniauske, R., Verburgh, L., Oosterlaan, J., & Molendijk, M. L. (2020). The Effects of Physical Exercise on Functional Outcomes in the Treatment of ADHD: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of attention disorders, 24(5), 644-654. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054715627489
q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2
Random-effects meta-analysis of studies on exercise effects on motor skills and executive functions in children with ADHD, identified through Cochrane, PsycInfo, PubMed and Web of Science; "Ten publications were selected." The pooled effect was "g = 0.627", a modest positive impact.
"There was a significant effect of exercise on ADHD functional outcomes (g = 0.627)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Exercise effect sizes on ADHD functional outcomes are not related to exercise intensity, mean age of participants, or gender distribution
- Longitudinal physical activity programs have a positive effect on executive functions in preadolescent children (g = 0.24) — related
- Chronic cardio exercise programs improve executive functions, attention, and behavior in children with ADHD — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Small pilot studies provide preliminary evidence that exercise interventions improve behavioral symptoms and neuropsychological functioning in children with ADHD — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Acute cardio exercise improves executive functions, response time, and academic performance in children with ADHD — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Acute exercise produces an overall small positive effect on cognition, with executive functions benefiting most and effects lasting up to two hours post-exercise — a broader claim this one bears on
- Reported benefits of physical activity programs on executive functions depend on program duration and the executive domain analyzed — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
exercise-improves-adhd-functional-outcomes |
title |
Physical exercise has a significant modest positive effect on functional outcomes (executive functions and motor skills) in children with ADHD |
description |
Physical exercise has a significant modest positive effect on functional outcomes (executive functions and motor skills) in children with ADHD |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — vysniauske-2020 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.