Dataset Information

No Long-Term Effect of Physical Activity Intervention on Working Memory or Arithmetic in Preadolescents.

ABSTRACT: We investigate if increased physical activity (PA) leads to enhanced working memory capacity and arithmetic performance, in a 2-year school-based intervention in preadolescent children (age 6-13). The active school (n = 228) increased PA (aimed at increasing cardiovascular fitness) from 2 to 5 days a week while the control school (n = 242) remained at 2 days. Twice a year, participants performed tests of arithmetic as well as verbal and spatial working memory. They also rated stress with a questionnaire at the start and at the end of the intervention. There was no beneficial development of working memory or arithmetic for the active school as compared to the control school. Furthermore, subgroup analyses revealed no favorable intervention effect for high/low baseline fitness, cognition or grit. Unexpectedly, a significant increase in self-rated stress was detected for the active school and this effect was driven by girls rather than boys and by the younger rather than older children. These results indicate that longtime high intensity PA does not lead to a beneficial development of working memory or arithmetic in preadolescent children.

SUBMITTER: Sjowall D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5554341 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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No Long-Term Effect of Physical Activity Intervention on Working Memory or Arithmetic in Preadolescents.

Sjöwall Douglas D Hertz Mattias M Klingberg Torkel T

Frontiers in psychology 20170810

We investigate if increased physical activity (PA) leads to enhanced working memory capacity and arithmetic performance, in a 2-year school-based intervention in preadolescent children (age 6-13). The active school (<i>n</i> = 228) increased PA (aimed at increasing cardiovascular fitness) from 2 to 5 days a week while the control school (<i>n</i> = 242) remained at 2 days. Twice a year, participants performed tests of arithmetic as well as verbal and spatial working memory. They also rated stres ...[more]

PMID: 28848464

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Physical activity (PA) can be used to prevent and treat diseases. In Sweden, licensed healthcare professionals use PA on prescription (PAP) to support patients to increase their PA level. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate a 2-year intervention of two different strategies of PAP treatment for patients with insufficient PA level, after a previous 6-month period of ordinary PAP treatment in a primary health care setting. METHODS:We included 190 patients, 27-77?years, physically inactive with metabolic risk factors where the patients were not responding to a previous 6-month PAP treatment with increased PA. The patients were randomized to either enhanced support from a physiotherapist (PT group) or continued ordinary PAP treatment at the health care centre (HCC group). The PAP treatment included an individualized dialogue; an individually dosed PA recommendation, including a written prescription; and a structured follow-up. In addition to PAP, the PT group received aerobic fitness tests and more frequent scheduled follow-ups. The patient PA level, metabolic health, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were measured at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-ups. RESULTS:At the 2-year follow-up, 62.9% of the PT group and 50.8% of the HCC group had increased their PA level and 31.4% vs. 38.5% achieved ??150?min of moderate-intensity PA/week (difference between groups n.s.). Over 2 years, both groups displayed increased high-density lipoproteins (HDL) (p?=?0.004 vs. baseline), increased mental health status (MCS) (p?=?0.036), and reduced body mass index (BMI) (p?=?0.001), with no difference between groups. CONCLUSION:During long-term PAP interventions, the PA level, metabolic health, and HRQOL increased in patients at metabolic risk without significant differences between groups. The results indicate to be independent of any changes in pharmacological treatment. We demonstrated that the PAP treatment was feasible in ordinary primary care. Both the patients and the healthcare system benefitted from the improvement in metabolic risk factors. Future studies should elucidate effective long-term PAP-treatment strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03012516 . Registered on 30 December 2016-retrospectively registered.

Dataset Information

No Long-Term Effect of Physical Activity Intervention on Working Memory or Arithmetic in Preadolescents.

Publications

No Long-Term Effect of Physical Activity Intervention on Working Memory or Arithmetic in Preadolescents.

Similar Datasets

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