Health & body · 2014
Was scheduled exercise linked to school performance?
Among students in urban Santiago, spending more time on scheduled exercise was associated with better academic performance. Those reporting more than 4 hours a week had higher odds of reaching the 50th and 75th on a standardized test.
Details
The study examined the association between systematic physical activity and schoolchildren’s academic performance while controlling for potential sociodemographic and educational confounders. Researchers studied a random sample of 1,271 fifth- and ninth-grade students from urban Santiago who took the 2009 System for the Assessment of Educational Quality (SIMCE) tests. They measured physical activity habits, anthropometric characteristics, and socioeconomic status.
Academic performance was measured using the standardized SIMCE tests. Logistic regressions assessed the relationship between time allocated to weekly scheduled exercise, potential confounding factors, and individual academic performance.
About 80% of students reported less than 2 hours of scheduled exercise per week; 10.6% reported 2 to 4 hours per week, and 10.2% reported more than 4 hours per week. More than 4 hours per week was significantly associated with higher odds of a SIMCE composite at or above the 50th percentile (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.4–3.6) and at or above the 75th percentile (odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.3–3.3; P < .01).
The researchers concluded that better academic performance was associated with more time allocated to scheduled exercise in school-age children.
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