Academic Achievement and Physical Activity: The Ideal Relationship to Promote a Healthier Lifestyle in Adolescents

Abstract

Background: School environment provides several intervention opportunities for physical activity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between objectively assessed moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and academic achievement in adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 301 students aged between 13 and 15 years (46.51% boys), enrolled at 7 secondary schools in the city of Huesca (Spain). Participants wore accelerometers during a 7-day period, and their academic achievement was calculated from the average marks of all subjects. Structural equation modeling and quadratic regression analysis were performed to test both linear and nonlinear explanatory models. One-way analysis of variance was also performed to explore the effect of gender and the percentage of compliance with MVPA recommendations. Results: MVPA on weekdays and higher levels of body mass index were negatively associated with academic achievement. According to the curvilinear relationship, those students whose MVPA levels were closer to the daily recommendation were more likely to obtain higher academic achievement. However, a significant association was only shown in the case of boys. Conclusions: Adolescents who satisfy the international recommendations tend to obtain better academic achievement. Therefore, MVPA for adolescents should be prescribed within some beneficial time margins (50–70 min/d).

Objectively measured physical activity and academic performance in school‐aged youth: The UP&DOWN longitudinal study

“…Briefly, the past research is mix and inconclusive, wherein some investigations found a positive relationship between some PA intensities (vigorous or MVPA) to academic performance, [33][34][35][36] others showed that association mediated via other variables, 31,37 others found no association 30,[38][39][40][41][42] or even a negative link. 43,44 Additionally, some studies have considered the joint effect of the MVPA, 29,35,38,40,42,45 and others have distinguished between different PA intensity levels. 34,36,43,46 However, only three longitudinal studies examined this association and were unable to produce consistent conclusions.…”

Is There Any Relationship between Physical Activity Levels and Academic Achievement? A Cross-Cultural Study among Spanish and Chilean Adolescents

“…In the Spanish adolescent population, results showed a significant negative relationship between PA levels during the week and AA, and no relationship with PA on the weekend. However, the male group that reached levels of PA close to compliance with the recommendations developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services (60 min of daily moderate–vigorous PA) [ 10 ] was more likely to obtain high AA [ 11 ].…”

Asociaciones entre actividad física y rendimiento académico en estudiantes con altas capacidades

“…(Estrada-Tenorio et al, 2020;Owen et al, 2018). En el caso de las chicas con AACC, esto implicaría que ciertos niveles de AF se correlacionan de forma positiva con el RA total, mientras que niveles de AF demasiado bajos o demasiados altos se asocian a un menor RA.…”