Physical activity interventions in childhood improve working memory with a small summary effect, based on very low-certainty evidence¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 Across 30 studies, physical activity interventions showed a small significant summary effect on children's working memory (g = 0.18). → Vasilopoulos 2023

Evidence¶

Vasilopoulos 2023¶

Vasilopoulos, F., Jeffrey, H., Wu, Y., & Dumontheil, I. (2023). Multi-Level Meta-Analysis of Physical Activity Interventions During Childhood: Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition and Academic Achievement. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09760-2

q3 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r3

Three-level meta-analysis of working memory outcomes from 30 studies (46 effect sizes, 5287 participants) in Table 4, showing a summary Hedges' g of "0.18" with 95% CI 0.07–0.29 and p = 0.01. Working memory was the only EF sub-domain with significant gains; GRADE rating is very low certainty.

"Working memory 5287 30 46 0.18 0.07–0.29 0.01 5.1% 73.9% 59.8–79.6% 148.3"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Working Memory — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Physical activity interventions in childhood show no overall benefit for executive functions or academic achievement — reports the opposite
• Classroom-based physical activity interventions improve attention and/or on-task behavior in most reviewed studies of schoolchildren aged 4–18 — related
• Classroom physical activity increases children's on-task behaviour, with no consistent gain on attention or other cognitive tests — reports the opposite