Muscular fitness shows no association with academic performance in primary school children¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · 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 i? No associations were found between muscular fitness and academic performance (mathematics, spelling, reading). → de Greeff 2014
Evidence¶
de Greeff 2014¶
de Greeff, J. W.; Hartman, E.; Mullender-Wijnsma, M. J.; Bosker, R. J.; Doolaard, S.; & Visscher, C. (2014). Physical fitness and academic performance in primary school children with and without a social disadvantage. Health Education Research, 29(5), 853-860. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyu043
q3 · i? · associational · r2
Null multilevel-analysis result in the 544-child sample: muscular fitness, measured with muscular fitness tests, was not associated with mathematics, spelling or reading scores. The article reports "No associations were found between muscular fitness and academic performance." No effect sizes are printed for these null results.
"No associations were found between muscular fitness and academic performance."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Physical Well-Being — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- Cardiovascular fitness is positively associated with mathematics performance in primary school children regardless of socioeconomic status — related
- Laboratory-based lower-limb muscular strength (1-RM leg press) is associated with mathematics skills and persists after adjustment for BMI and cardiorespiratory fitness — reports the opposite
- Fitness associations with academic achievement are attenuated or disappear after adjustment for BMI and cardiorespiratory fitness, indicating inter-dependence — related
- Socially disadvantaged children do not differ in physical fitness but score significantly lower on academic performance than non-disadvantaged peers — related
- Cardiovascular fitness is positively associated with spelling but not with reading in primary school children — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
muscular-fitness-no-academic-association |
title |
Muscular fitness shows no association with academic performance in primary school children |
description |
Muscular fitness shows no association with academic performance in primary school children |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2014 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — de-greeff-2014 |
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