Mathematics is the subject where positive associations with physical activity are found most consistently in systematic reviews, though meta-analytic effects range from null to medium¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Systematic reviews found positive associations between PA and mathematics more consistently than for other subjects. → Barbosa Ana 2020 q2 i? Meta-analyses report null, small, or medium effects of PA on mathematics specifically. → Barbosa Ana 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

Barbosa Ana 2020¶

Barbosa Ana, Whiting Stephen, Simmonds Philippa, Scotini Moreno Rodrigo, Mendes Romeu, Breda João. (2020). Physical Activity and Academic Achievement: An Umbrella Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165972

q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Qualitative synthesis of the 41 included systematic reviews (Section 3.3.1). The review states "Mathematics was the subject where positive associations were found with more consistency" across the cited reviews; no effect size printed.

"Mathematics was the subject where positive associations were found with more consistency [27,31,33,36,39,52,61]."

Barbosa Ana 2020 (2)¶

Barbosa Ana, Whiting Stephen, Simmonds Philippa, Scotini Moreno Rodrigo, Mendes Romeu, Breda João. (2020). Physical Activity and Academic Achievement: An Umbrella Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165972

q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-analytic synthesis of subject-specific effects (Section 3.3.2). The review reports PA effects on mathematics were "null [23,24,28,33,34,35], small [39], or medium [27,31,36]"; no numeric effect sizes printed.

"The effects of PA on mathematics were null [23,24,28,33,34,35], small [39], or medium [27,31,36]."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chronic physical activity shows a medium positive effect on academic achievement while acute physical activity shows a null effect
• Physical activity has null or small-to-medium positive effects on school-age children's and adolescents' academic achievement according to meta-analyses
• Systematic reviews on regular physical activity and children's cognition reach conflicting conclusions, with math performance the most consistent beneficiary — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Intervention effect sizes on mathematics are negatively associated with participants' age and intervention duration, while intervention type does not explain heterogeneity — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Meta-analyses of physical activity effects on youth cognition and academic performance show small effect sizes (0.1–0.3) with substantial heterogeneity — related
• Increasing school physical education time shows small-to-medium effects on achievement while active classrooms show mixed effects compared with traditional sedentary classrooms — related