Large-scale Scandinavian multicomponent PA interventions showed no significant positive effects on mathematics performance, raising a possible upper-limit question¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · 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.
q2 i? Three recent large-scale Scandinavian multicomponent interventions adding various types of PA to the school day did not indicate significant positive effects on mathematics performance. → Sneck S. 2019
Evidence¶
Sneck S. 2019¶
Sneck S., Viholainen H., Syväoja H., Kankaapää A., Hakonen H., Poikkeus A.-M., Tammelin T. (2019). Effects of school-based physical activity on mathematics performance in children: a systematic review. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0866-6
q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2
Review synthesis of three multicomponent interventions combining PA breaks, integrated PA, active transportation and PA homework. The review reports they "did not indicate significant positive effects" on mathematics performance.
"Three recent large-scale Scandinavian multicomponent interventions [60, 67, 73] where various types of PA were added to the school day did not indicate significant positive effects on mathematics performance."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Intervention effect sizes on mathematics are negatively associated with participants' age and intervention duration, while intervention type does not explain heterogeneity
- Children with lower baseline achievement, lower IQ or lower school engagement may benefit more from school-based PA interventions, though evidence is mixed
- Acute PA before mathematics testing shows mixed effects: 10- and 20-min exercise breaks raised math scores but 5-min breaks did not, and pre-test PA sessions helped in two of four studies
- Across 29 controlled studies, positive overall effects of school-based PA on mathematics performance appear in 45% of studies and neutral effects in 52%, with only one negative subgroup result — related
- School-based physical activity interventions show a small positive pooled effect on children's mathematics performance (d = 0.23) across 11 randomised trials — related
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