Research: Academic Performance and Attendance

How obesity, physical activity, and Safe Routes to School initiatives affect learning, academic achievement, and attendance

There is a growing body of evidence showing a positive relationship between physical activity and measures of academic achievement, including grade point average (Kontomaa et al, 2013), rate of learning (Hillman et al., 2009), and classroom behavior (Davis and Cooper, 2011), as well as cognitive, social, and motor skill development and ability (Active Living Research, 2015).

Physical activity has demonstrated both short-term improvements to attention and memory, as well as long-term benefits for brain health (Active Living Research, 2015). Meanwhile, research suggests that overweight and obesity may be connected with lower academic performance (Kamijo et al., 2012) and greater risk for school absenteeism (Geier et al., 2007). More study is needed to explain the causal relationships between fitness, physical activity, body weight, and academics, but the connections are evident.

Safe Routes to School programs are an important complement to physical education and active learning during the school day to help students achieve national guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily for children. The school setting is key for shaping opportunities for physical health and promoting health because children spend up to seven hours a day at school. However, school physical education alone will not achieve recommended amounts of daily physical activity among children (National Institutes of Medicine, 2013). A “whole of school” approach that encourages physical activity through active transport to school, such as Safe Routes to School programs, is beneficial (National Research Council, 2013). Yet, fewer than 10% of school districts nationwide include language promoting Safe Routes to School in their wellness policies (National Research Council, 2013). Articles in this section explore the relationships between fitness, physical activity, body weight, and academic performance.

ALR infographic

Infographic: Active Living Research

Research Highlights:

  • Aerobic fitness has been connected with better standardized test performance (Roberts, Freed, and McCarthy, 2010).
  • Cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status have been independently connected with academic achievement, cognition, and behavior (Sardinha et al., 2014; Davis and Cooper, 2011).
  • Children with a high level of fitness performed better on a test of memory than children with low levels of fitness (Raine et al., 2013).
  • Higher body mass has been associated with lower academic achievement (Kamijo et al., 2013). Meanwhile, students with a healthier body mass index and cardiovascular fitness have higher academic achievement (Janak et al., 2014).
  • In one study of middle schoolers, students who were not overweight had 25% fewer absences and 39% lower tardiness compared with students who were overweight (Shore et al., 2008).
  • After adding physical activity to school curriculum, students performed 6% better on standardized tests than peers learning the same material in seated, inactive sessions (Donnelly and Lambourne, 2011).
  • After 20 minutes of walking, students completed learning tasks more quickly and accurately and performed better on tests of reading comprehension (Hillman et al., 2009). Other studies have confirmed that 20 minutes of acute aerobic exercise, like walking, improve children’s cognitive performance (Drollette et al., 2014).
  • An experimental study showed that students with intellectual and developmental disabilities had improved reaction time and brain activity following short bouts of cycling (Vogt et al., 2013).
  • One study connected active commuting with higher cognitive performance on verbal, reasoning, and numerical tests among adolescent girls (Martinez-Gomez, 2011).
  • Physical inactivity is more prevalent among lower-income youth and youth of color, which may negatively affect academic achievement, and active transportation can be an important strategy for increasing physical activity in this population (Basch, 2011).
  • Schools serving adolescents from families of lower income should implement brief sessions of aerobic exercise during the school day, as just 12 minutes of aerobic exercise improved adolescents’ selective visual attention and reading comprehension abilities (Tine, 2014).
  • Regular physical activity and higher levels of physical fitness have been linked to improved academic performance and brain function. Single sessions of physical activity can enhance attention and memory (Castelli et al., 2015).
  • Physical activity is positively associated with cognition, but more research is needed on the role of sex, type and intensity of physical activity, and psychological variables (i.e., self-esteem, depression) (Esteban-Cornejo et al., 2014).
  • Achieving adequate physical activity and maintaining aerobic fitness in childhood is critical to improve cognitive and brain development in adolescence (Khan et al., 2014).
Research
THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE RESEARCH: INFORMING THE FUTURE

KEY TAKEAWAY:

This review of the literature examined the history of research on physical activity, physical fitness, and academic performance and found a growing body of evidence for connections between these factors.

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Physical Activity Before School, Cognitive Performance, and Academic Achievement in Dutch Adolescents
Let Them Walk or Cycle to School

In this study, associations between objectively measured active commuting to school and cognitive performance and academic achievement in Dutch adolescents were investigated.

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Achievement in Mathematics and Language is Linked to Regular Physical Activity
A Population Study in Chilean Youth

BACKGROUND:  We examined the association between the allocation of time to regular physical activity (PA) and achievement in mathematics and language in Chilean adolescents after controlling for confounders.

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LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions can benefit cognitive function and school achievement in children of normal weight. Similar beneficial effects may be seen in overweight or obese children and adolescents.

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Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition, Academic Achievement, and Psychological Function in Children
A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials

INTRODUCTION:  This systematic review provides an overview of research elucidating the relationship between aerobic physical activity and children's cognition, academic achievement, and psychosocial function.

Research
Evaluation of a Policy to Integrate Physical Activity Into the School Day

BACKGROUND:  Implementing physical activity (PA) within academic curricula increases energy expenditure and enhances academic achievement in elementary students. The purposes of the study were to determine the extent teachers met the 20-minute PA policy, identify how teachers met the policy, and measure the level of intensity of PA provided.

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Moderate Cycling Exercise Enhances Neurocognitive Processing in Adolescents With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Research has shown that physical exercise enhances cognitive performance in individuals with intact cognition as well as in individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School

This downloadable report from the Institute of Medicine is a compilation of information around increasing physical activity in K-12 schools.

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A Physical Education Trial Improves Adolescents' Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement: The Edufit Study

The intervention focused on increasing the time and intensity of Physical Education (PE), on adolescents' cognitive performance and academic achievement. A 4-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 67 adolescents from South-East Spain, in 2007.

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Associations Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Academic Attainment in Adolescents from a UK Cohort

The goal of the study was to test students for cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between objectively measured free-living physical activity (PA) and academic attainment in adolescents.