A before-school physical activity intervention to improve cognitive parameters in children: The Active-Start study
Open accessAbstract
The aim of the study was threefold: (a) to test a before‐school physical activity intervention (Active‐Start) on academic performance, selective attention, and concentration capacity; (b) to test the effect of the Active‐Start intervention on anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness parameters; and (c) whether the physical fitness components are moderators of the effect of the Active‐Start program on academic performance, selective attention, and concentration capacity in Chilean children. The Active‐Start intervention was a RCT which comprised 170 children (8‐10 years old) from three public schools with low socioeconomic status from the city of Santiago (Chile). The exercise intervention was delivered daily, before starting the first school‐class (8:00‐8:30 am ) for 8 weeks. Changes in academic performance, selective attention and concentration capacity, anthropometric, body composition, and physical fitness parameters were measured. The analyses used were mixed regression models for repeated measures over time. No statistically significant changes in attention and concentration capacity were found. However, significant changes were seen in language (0.63; 95% CI 0.49‐0.77) and mathematics (0.49; 95% CI 0.32‐0.66) performance ( P < .001). Also, improvements were seen in fat mass, fat‐free mass, muscular, and cardiorespiratory fitness (all P < .05). The Johnson‐Neyman technique revealed a significant relationship between the effect of intervention and attention and concentration when change in cardiorespiratory fitness was above, but not below, 3.05 and 0.70 mL/kg/min, respectively. Implementing before‐school physical activity programs such as the Active‐Start to enhance the cardiorespiratory fitness may benefit attention capacity and academic success among schoolchildren.
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Gall et al. [40] and García-Hermoso et al. [50] found no significant (p > 0.5) intervention effect on cognitive performance compared to a control condition (group receiving regular PE lessons).
“Likewise, studies conducted by Gall et al. [40] and García-Hermoso et al. [50] found no significant (p > 0.5) intervention effect on cognitive performance compared to a control condition (group receiving regular PE lessons).”
From The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [50]
The Results (page unavailable) report no statistically significant intervention effect on attention or concentration, and the Experimental Approach says the control group continued regular PE lessons. But the Results also report significant improvements in language and mathematics performance (p<0.001), so the claim is too broad if ‘cognitive performance’ includes those outcomes. Our copy does not give p>0.5 for attention or concentration. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOf the eight studies that analysed effects on academic performance, four used grades in academic subjects, three used standardised test results, one measured mastery of the basic facts test, and one analysed mathematics and reading performance with the speed test arithmetic and the 1 min test.
“Of the eight studies that analysed the effects on academic performance, four used grades in academic subjects [40,48,49,50]; meanwhile, three studies utilised standardised test results [43,49,55], one took measurements of the student’s mastery of the basic facts test [47], and one analysed mathematics and reading performance with the speed test arithmetic and the 1 min test [45].”
From The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [50]
García-Hermoso et al. reported that increased moderate to vigorous physical activity has a significant positive effect on academic performance.
“Likewise, a study conducted by García-Hermoso et al. [50] reported that increased moderate to vigorous PA has a significant (p < 0.001), positive effect on academic performance.”
From The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [50]
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“’s [50] study included 150 min of additional PA per week.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialLoturco, I., Montoya, N. P., Ferraz, M. B., Berbat, V., & Pereira, L. A. (2022) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci12020134 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- García‐Hermoso, A., Hormazábal‐Aguayo, I., Fernández‐Vergara, O., González‐Calderón, N., Russell‐Guzmán, J., Vicencio‐Rojas, F., Chacana‐Cañas, C., & Ramírez‐Vélez, R.
- Affiliations
- Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra (CHN)‐Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA), IdiSNA Navarrabiomed Pamplona Spain
- Universidad de Santiago de Chile (CL)
- Universidad Autónoma de Chile (CL)
- Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, el Deporte y la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas Universidad de Santiago de Chile, USACH Santiago Chile
- ORCID
- Venue
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-09-02
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 108-116
- ISSN
- 0905-7188 (ISSN-L)
- 1600-0838
- OpenAlex
- W2968733895
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 4.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Academica-e (Universidad Pública de Navarra) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (051641ZR_DAS)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- children, academic performance, selective attention, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, fat-free mass, fat mass, language performance, mathematics achievement, socioeconomic status, low-income children, intervention moderators, Chile
- MeSH terms
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Academic Success, Anthropometry, Attention, Body Composition, Child, Chile, Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Physical Education and Training, Schools, Social Class
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