Research and training programs should differentiate age periods, sporting disciplines, and compare physically active with cognitively active groups¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The review's implications section recommends that future work conduct longitudinal studies across well-differentiated age groups (pre-school through late puberty), distinguish late childhood, pre-adolescence, early adolescence, and adolescence, and attend to "the types of physical activity one engages in, and how different activities may differently influence cognitive functioning". It further recommends comparing physically active groups with cognitively active groups, such as children playing musical instruments, rather than only against sedentary peers, and measuring all cognitive functions in one study. Such knowledge could guide training programs for pre-adolescents aimed at improving discipline-relevant cognitive functions.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Longitudinal designs with well-differentiated age groups and comprehensive measurement of all cognitive functions

Constraints¶

• The review found no studies comparing children in different age groups and none exploring how different sports differently influence cognition, so current evidence cannot yet support discipline-specific prescriptions

Target Learners¶

• pre-adolescent children (late childhood)

Target Learning Goals¶

• cognitive functions relevant to specific sporting disciplines

Related Strategies¶

• Future CB-PA research and practice should use standardized, ecologically valid outcome measures, objective activity parameters, and longitudinal designs
• Design physical activity interventions as continuous regular activity sustained over several weeks
• Conduct methodologically comparable experimental studies of acute PA and attention in school settings
• Before or After-School Physical Activity Programs

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Bidzan-Bluma Ilona, Lipowska Małgorzata. (2018). Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040800