Evidence for physical activity benefits on academic achievement in youth is inconsistent: six of twelve reviews concluded benefits, six mixed or inconclusive¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesisr2·q3
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 i? Across twelve systematic reviews of academic outcomes, six concluded physical activity benefits academic performance and six reported mixed or inconclusive evidence. → Wassenaar Thomas M. 2020
q3 i? The single high-confidence review found no evidence for physical activity improvements in maths, reading or language among overweight/obese children. → Wassenaar Thomas M. 2020 (2)
Evidence¶
Wassenaar Thomas M. 2020¶
Wassenaar Thomas M., Williamson Wilby, Johansen-Berg Heidi, Dawes Helen, Roberts Nia, Foster Charlie, Sexton Claire E. (2020). A critical evaluation of systematic reviews assessing the effect of chronic physical activity on academic achievement, cognition and the brain in children and adolescents: a systematic review. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00959-y
q3 · i? · review · r3
Synthesis of the twelve systematic reviews that evaluated academic outcomes. The article reports an even split: six reviews concluded benefits and six "mixed or inconclusive evidence for PA-related academic changes".
"Across all twelve reviews, six concluded that PA benefits academic performance [23, 24, 26, 29, 32, 33], and the remaining six concluded that there was mixed or inconclusive evidence for PA-related academic changes"
Wassenaar Thomas M. 2020 (2)¶
Wassenaar Thomas M., Williamson Wilby, Johansen-Berg Heidi, Dawes Helen, Roberts Nia, Foster Charlie, Sexton Claire E. (2020). A critical evaluation of systematic reviews assessing the effect of chronic physical activity on academic achievement, cognition and the brain in children and adolescents: a systematic review. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00959-y
q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2
Findings of the one high-confidence review (Martin et al.), based on three RCTs in obese/overweight children. Its meta-analyses reported maths d = 0.49 (−0.04, 1.01) and reading d = 0.10 (−0.30, 0.49), both non-significant.
"Among three RCTs of obese/overweight children, this review found no evidence for PA-related improvements in maths, reading or language performance."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Physical Well-Being — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- Eight of thirteen reviews concluded physical activity benefits cognitive performance, five reported mixed or inconclusive evidence, and none suggested worse cognition
- Meta-analyses of physical activity effects on youth cognition and academic performance show small effect sizes (0.1–0.3) with substantial heterogeneity
- Systematic reviews on regular physical activity and children's cognition reach conflicting conclusions, with math performance the most consistent beneficiary — related
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