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A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment

Amika Singh, PhD; Léonie Uijtdewilligen, MSc; Jos W. R. Twisk, PhD; Willem van Mechelen, PhD, MD; Mai J. M. Chinapaw, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012;166(1):49-55. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.716

Objective  To describe the prospective relationship between physical activity and academic performance.

Data Sources  Prospective studies were identified from searches in PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central, and Sportdiscus from 1990 through 2010.

Study Selection  We screened the titles and abstracts for eligibility, rated the methodological quality of the studies, and extracted data.

Main Exposure  Studies had to report at least 1 physical activity or physical fitness measurement during childhood or adolescence.

Main Outcome Measures  Studies had to report at least 1 academic performance or cognition measure during childhood or adolescence.

Results  We identified 10 observational and 4 intervention studies. The quality score of the studies ranged from 22% to 75%. Two studies were scored as high quality. Methodological quality scores were particularly low for the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments. Based on the results of the best-evidence synthesis, we found evidence of a significant longitudinal positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance.

Conclusions  Participation in physical activity is positively related to academic performance in children. Because we found only 2 high-quality studies, future high-quality studies are needed to confirm our findings. These studies should thoroughly examine the dose-response relationship between physical activity and academic performance as well as explanatory mechanisms for this relationship.

Author Affiliations: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research (Drs Singh, van Mechelen, and Chinapaw and Ms Uijtdewilligen), and Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Dr Twisk), Vrije Universiteit (VU) University Medical Center, and Department of Methodology and Applied Biostatistics, Institute of Health Sciences, VU University (Dr Twisk), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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