The “Fat but Fit” paradox in the academic context: relationship between physical fitness and weight status with adolescents’ academic achievement

Martinez-Zamora, Marcos D; Pinto-Escalona, Tania; Martínez‐de‐Quel, Óscar

doi:10.1038/s41366-020-00666-5

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our results provide further support to the notion that overweight/obese (vs. normal-weight) adolescents are more likely to have psychosomatic complaints , such as headache , feeling low and difficulties to fall asleep than normal-weight counterparts, and emphasize a gender-specific nature of these associations. The present study also revealed that being overweight/obese among boys and girls was associated with academic failure and not feeling good at school , which is in line with previous reports 3 , 21 , 22 , 34 . These factors may adversely affect social interactions and future aspirations of overweight/obese adolescents.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…In line with previous findings, our study revealed adverse associations between being overweight/obese and psychosomatic complaints as well as several school-related complaints. It was previously demonstrated that overweight or obesity in children and adolescents is often associated with development of psychological distress, low self-esteem, poor quality of life, discrimination and poorer academic performance 3 , 22 , 32 – 35 . For instance, a cross-sectional study of school-aged children aged 10 to 17 years showed that obese children had higher odds to have school problems and grade repetition 3 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a US cross-sectional study of 4742 male and 5201 female public school students, associations of weight status with social relationships, school experiences, psychological well-being, and some future aspirations were observed 21 . In a recent study in adolescents (12–18 years old), better academic achievements were found among physically fit as well as normal weight participants compared to unfit and overweight/obese peers, respectively 22 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Important gender differences in psychosomatic and school-related complaints in relation to adolescent weight status

Brooks

Feldman

Schiöth

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Underweight or overweight in adolescence is linked to several adverse health outcomes. Less evidence exists about the association between weight status and school-related psychosocial characteristics in high income countries. We sought to investigate the relationship between weight status and psychosomatic and school-related complaints with a focus on gender differences. The study is a cohort of 18,462 adolescents (12–19 years; 51% girls) conducted in Sweden. The associations between weight status and psychosomatic and school-related complaints were estimated by binary logistic regression adjusted for several potential confounders. After correction for multiple testing, being underweight or overweight/obese was adversely associated with several psychosomatic and school-related complaints with significant differences between boys and girls. Specifically, underweight boys had higher odds to have psychosomatic complaints than normal-weight boys, while no such associations were observed among underweight girls. Overweight/obese (vs. normal-weight) boys had higher odds to complain about headache, pain in the back/hips, and feeling low. Overweight/obese (vs. normal-weight) girls were more likely to complain about feeling low, anxious/worried and having difficulty in falling asleep (P ≤ 0.01). In relation to school-related complaints (e.g., being bullied at school and academic failure), greater associations were observed for overweight/obese girls and boys than for underweight adolescents compared with normal-weight peers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Important gender differences in psychosomatic and school-related complaints in relation to adolescent weight status

Brooks

Feldman

Schiöth

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A study in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity showed that CRF and S-AF were associated with several cortical and subcortical brain structures, even after controlling for BMI and other covariates (62). Hence, although it is recognised that an adequate balance between fatness and fitness is crucial to promote a better academic achievement and cognitive performance (55,64); based on the literature and our findings, we could establish that fitness plays a pivot role between fatness and cognitive performance. Indeed, the current study showed the non-direct association between BMIz and cognitive performance.…”

Section: Fitness Mediation Role On Bmizsupporting

confidence: 51%

Physical Fitness Plays a Crucial Mediator Role in Relationships Among Personal, Social, and Lifestyle Factors With Adolescents' Cognitive Performance in a Structural Equation Model. The Cogni-Action Project

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The beneficial relationship between physical fitness and cognitive performance is affected and modulated by a wide diversity of factors that seem to be more sensitive during the development stage, particularly during early adolescence. This study aimed to examine the role of physical fitness considering the multivariate association between age, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), school vulnerability index (SVI), body mass index z-score (BMIz), physical activity, and sleep problems with the cognitive performance in boys and girls.Method: Participants were 1,196 adolescents aged 10–14 years (50.7% of boys) from Chile. Three physical fitness components and eight cognitive tasks were measured. BMIz was determined using growth references by age and sex, whereas questionaries were used to assess sleep problems, physical activity, and HRQOL. SVI was established according to the score given by the Chilean Government to educational establishments. We performed a structural equation model (SEM) to test multivariate associations among study' variables by sex.Results: Fitness was positively associated with boys' and girls' cognitive performance (β = 0.23 and β = 0.17; p = 0.001, respectively). Moreover, fitness presented a significant mediator role in the relationships between BMIz, SVI, and physical activity with cognitive performance (indirect effect). Additionally, SVI showed a negative association both direct and indirect effect in all three fitness components and all cognitive tasks, being this relationship stronger in girls than in boys.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that physical fitness and all its components play a crucial mediator role in the associations between several factors associated with adolescents' cognitive performance. Thereby, educational and health strategies should prioritise improving physical fitness through physical activity. They also should address other factors such as school vulnerability, obesity, and the early gender gap in a comprehensive approach boosting cognitive performance among early adolescents.Trial registration: Research Registry (ID: researchregistry5791).

show abstract

“…There is evidence that an optimal cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) attenuates some of the adverse consequences of obesity, at least at the cardiovascular level—the so‐called ‘fat but fit’ paradox 6 . CRF can also influence academic achievement, 7 with a high CRF attenuating the detrimental effects of obesity on academic performance in adolescents 8 . In addition, a high CRF has been associated with a better psychosocial functioning 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic performance and psychosocial functioning in European schoolchildren: The role of cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Background Whether a high cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can attenuate the potential detrimental effect of childhood obesity on academic performance and particularly psychosocial functioning remains unclear. Objectives To analyse the academic performance/psychosocial functioning of schoolchildren attending to their CRF and weight status. Methods 470 schoolchildren (46% girls, 7 ± 0 years) from 20 schools in five European countries were categorized as (i) having overweight/obesity (n = 113) or normal weight (n = 357) attending to body mass index and (ii) ‘fit’ (n = 282) or ‘unfit’ (n = 188) based on 20‐meter shuttle‐run performance (CRF ≥ or <42 ml·kg−1·min−1 [boys] and 35 ml·kg−1·min−1 [girls], respectively). Academic performance and psychosocial functioning were assessed using the grades attained in school subjects and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for parents, respectively. Results Independent of their weight status, fit children showed a greater academic performance and psychosocial functioning than their peers who were unfit and overweight/obese. In fit children, academic performance and psychosocial functioning did not differ between the two weight status categories (normal weight or overweight/obesity). Conclusions Children with a higher CRF show a greater performance achievement and psychosocial functioning regardless of their weight status, thereby supporting the ‘fat but fit’ paradox and reinforcing the importance of improving CRF in this population.

show abstract

The “Fat but Fit” paradox in the academic context: relationship between physical fitness and weight status with adolescents’ academic achievement

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Important gender differences in psychosomatic and school-related complaints in relation to adolescent weight status

Important gender differences in psychosomatic and school-related complaints in relation to adolescent weight status

Physical Fitness Plays a Crucial Mediator Role in Relationships Among Personal, Social, and Lifestyle Factors With Adolescents' Cognitive Performance in a Structural Equation Model. The Cogni-Action Project

Academic performance and psychosocial functioning in European schoolchildren: The role of cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About