PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE BASED INTERVENTIONSPhysical Education, Physical

ActivityAnd its benefits on Academic

Performance

ABC Education Brief

Schools and Physical Activity

Dutch researchers A very Pressing issue The Surgeon General suggest 60 minutes

of moderate activity most days of the week.

Sacrificing physical education for classroom time does not improve academic performance

Results from 2007 report states, 287 fourth- and fifth-grade students in British Columbia

1999, fourth- and fifth-grade students in California results

United States, results from a national longitudinal study

Kids who are more physically active tend to perform better

academically Centers For Disease Control and

Prevention Reports showed that the physical

activity:1. Helped with concentration2. Helped with memory and retention3. Boosted self esteem4. And strengthened verbal skills

Higher Physical Fitness achievements also helped with:

1. Disciplinary incidents2. Less drug and alcohol usage3. Less violence and truancy.

Activity Breaks can improve cognitive performance and classroom behavior

According to seven studies involving elementary students and one survey of elementary and middle school administrators

Teachers reported better classroom behavior for students who had more than 15 minutes of daily recess

2008 survey of representatives from 106 North Carolina School districts:

1. Improved academic focus when 30 minutes of daily physical activity was implemented from grades k-8

2. 1998 researchers in Georgia studied the effects of providing grade with a daily activity break

Cont

A 12 week research project conducted in North Carolina in 2006 evaluated 243 students in grade school. With out a break for physical activity it

1. Decreased on task behavior2. Children were very lethargic by the end

of the day3. Lacked focus and paying attention to

detail

Cont

When students were given a break daily on task behavior increased significantly by an average of 8%

Conclusion

Studies consistently show that more time in physical education and other school-based physical activity does not adversely affect academic performance.

In some cases, more time in physical education leads to improved grades and standardized test scores.

Physically active and fit children tend to have better academic achievement.

Conclusion cont

Evidence links higher levels of physical fitness with better school attendance and fewer disciplinary problems.

There are several possible mechanisms by which physical education and regular physical activity could improve academic achievement, including enhanced concentration skills and classroom behavior

Conclusion Cont

Additional research is needed to determine the impact of physical activity on academic performance among those children who are at highest risk for obesity in the United States, including black, Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Asian-American and Pacific Islander children, as well as children living in lower-income communities

References

Lee S, Burgeson C, Fulton J, et al. “Physical Education and Physical Activity: Results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006.”Journal of School Health, 77(8): 435–463, October 2007.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Heart Association. 2006 Shape of the Nation Report: Status of Physical Educationin the USA. Reston, VA: National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2006.

References

Shephard R. “Curricular Physical Activity and Academic Performance.” Pediatric Exercise Science, 9(2): 113–126, May 1997.

Sibley B and Etnier J. “The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Cognition in Children: A Meta-analysis.” Pediatric Exercise Science,15(3): 243–256, August 2003.

Shephard R. “Habitual Physical Activity and Academic Performance.” Nutrition Reviews, 54(4): S32–S36, April 1996.