Longitudinal associations of physical activity and pubertal development with academic achievement in adolescents

Dysexecutive symptomatology in everyday functioning and academic achievement in adolescents

Background

During the educational stage, academic achievement depends on various social, family, and personal factors. Among the latter, executive skills in everyday life play a significant role in dealing with the academic demands of adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study is to ascertain the effects of executive symptomatology in everyday functioning on academic achievement in adolescents.

Method

The study involved 910 students aged between 13 and 15 years (M = 14.09, SD = 0.68) from both public and private schools in the Community of Madrid. The DEX, BDEFS-CA, and BRIEF-SR questionnaires were utilised to assess executive difficulties, while grades in language, mathematics, and natural sciences were used as a measure of academic achievement.

Results

The data revealed statistically significant differences in working memory, emotional control, materials organisation, and task completion. In relation to language and natural sciences subjects. In the case of mathematics, emotional control and task completion were significant variables.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that certain executive skills that are manifested in everyday life activities can contribute, albeit in a variable way, to academic achievement in the subjects studied. This aspect is relevant insofar as it allows us to develop preventive interventions based on the executive training of these everyday skills.

Cross-sectional study of characteristics of body composition of 24,845 children and adolescents aged 3-17 years in Suzhou

BACKGROUND

We aimed to analyze the characteristics of the body composition of children and adolescents aged 3-17 in Suzhou, China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study between January 2020 and June 2022 using bioelectrical impedance was conducted to determine the fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass, and protein and mineral contents of 24,845 children aged 3-17 who attended the Department of Child and Adolescent Healthcare, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, China. Measurement data was presented in tables as mean ± SD, and groups were compared using the independent samples t-test.

RESULTS

FM and fat-free mass increased with age in both boys and girls. The fat-free mass of girls aged 14-15 decreased after reaching a peak, and that of boys in the same age group was higher than that of the girls (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in FM between boys and girls younger than 9- and 10-years old. The percentage body fat (PBF) and FM index of girls increased rapidly between 11 and 15 years of age (p < 0.05), and those of boys aged 11-14 were significantly lower (p < 0.05), suggesting that the increase in body mass index (BMI) was mainly contributed by muscle mass (MM) in boys.

CONCLUSIONS

The body composition of children and adolescents varies according to their age and sex. A misdiagnosis of obesity made on the basis of BMI alone can be avoided if BMI is used in combination with FM index, percentage body fat, and other indexes.

Children's Evolved Learning Abilities and Their Implications for Education

In this article, I examine children's evolved learning mechanisms that make humans the most educable of animals. These include (1) skeletal perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that get fleshed out over the course of development, mainly through play; (2) a high level of plasticity that is greatest early in life but that persists into adulthood; (3) remarkable social-learning capabilities; and (4) dispositions toward exploration and play. I next examine some evolutionary mismatches-conflicts between psychological mechanisms evolved in ancient environments and their utility in modern ones-specifically with respect to modern educational systems. I then suggest some ways educators can take advantage of children's evolved learning abilities to minimize the effects of evolutionary mismatches, including (1) following developmentally appropriate practices (which are also evolutionarily appropriate practices), (2) increasing opportunities for physical activities, (3) increasing opportunities to learn through play, and (4) taking advantage of stress-adapted children's "hidden talents." I argue that evolutionary theory informs teachers and parents about how children evolved to learn and can result in more-enlightened teaching methods that will result in a more enjoyable and successful learning experiences for children.

Effects of a school-based physical activity intervention on academic performance in 14-year old adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial - the School in Motion study

BACKGROUND

School-based physical activity interventions evaluating the effect on academic performance usually includes children. We aimed to investigate the effect of a nine-month, school-based physical activity intervention titled School in Motion (ScIM) on academic performance in adolescents.

METHODS

Thirty secondary schools in Norway were cluster-randomized into three groups: the Physically active learning (PAL) group (n = 10), the Don't worry - Be Happy (DWBH) group (n = 10) or control (n = 10). Target dose in both intervention groups was 120 min/week of additional PA during school hours. Parental consent was obtained from 2084 adolescent students (76%). Standardized national tests in reading and numeracy was conducted at baseline and at the end of the intervention. We used linear mixed model to test intervention effects. We found significant intervention effects in numeracy and reading among students in both interventions when compared with controls.

RESULTS

The mean difference in change in numeracy was 1.7 (95% CI: 0.9 to 2.5; Cohen's d = 0.12) and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.4 to 2.7; Cohen's d = 0.23) points in favour of students in the PAL and DWBH intervention, respectively. Similar results were found for reading, where the mean difference in change was 0.9 (95% CI 0.2 to 1.6; Cohen's d = 0.06) and 1.1 (95% CI 0.3 to 1.9; Cohen's d = 0.18) points in favour of students in the PAL and DWBH intervention, respectively. When conducting intention to treat analysis with imputed data the estimates were attenuated and some no longer significant.

CONCLUSION

The ScIM study demonstrates that two different school-based PA interventions providing approximately 120 min of additional PA weekly over nine months, significantly improved numeracy and reading performance in 14-year old students compared with controls. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as the effect sizes reported were very small or small and the estimates were attenuated when conducting intention to treat analysis. Despite this, our results are still positive and suggest that PA interventions are viable models to increase academic performance among adolescents.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered (25/01/2019): NCT03817047 .

Moderators in a physical activity intervention for adolescent girls

BACKGROUND

The purpose was to explore whether baseline sociodemographic and physical characteristics moderated effects of an intervention on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), percent body fat, body mass index z-score, and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) at post intervention, relative to the control condition.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of data from a group randomized trial including 24 schools (12 intervention and 12 control; N = 1519 girls) was conducted. Age, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, and pubertal stage were assessed via survey. Height, weight, MVPA (min/h), percent body fat, and CRF were measured. Mixed-effects linear models were performed.

RESULTS

Compared to the control, the intervention increased overweight and obese girls' CRF (b = 0.28, p = 0.049; b = 0.31, p < 0.01, respectively), but not healthy weight girls' CRF (b = 0.04, p = 0.706). Pre- to mid-puberty girls in the intervention group had slightly lower post-intervention MVPA than those in the control (3.04 vs. 3.31, p = 0.055), while late to post-puberty intervention and control girls' post-intervention MVPA was similar (3.12 vs. 3.04, p = 0.542).

CONCLUSIONS

A PA intervention can improve overweight and obese girls' CRF, possibly attenuating their cardiovascular risk. Effective strategies are needed to assist adolescent girls, especially those in pre- to mid-puberty, in maintaining their MVPA after an intervention ends.

IMPACT

Moderators of physical activity intervention effects among adolescent girls are important to identify because the effectiveness of these interventions to date in this population has been limited. This article contributes to the notable gap in knowledge regarding moderators in physical activity interventions involving adolescent girls, particularly baseline characteristics that may moderate their responses to physical activity interventions. Awareness of the moderators can be useful for determining the type of intervention that may be successful in subgroups of adolescent girls and for tailoring a physical activity intervention to optimally meet each girl's needs to achieve maximal effects. Findings show that weight status moderated the intervention effects on cardiorespiratory fitness. Compared to the control condition, the intervention increased overweight and obese, but not healthy weight, girls' cardiorespiratory fitness. A physical activity intervention can improve overweight and obese girls' cardiorespiratory fitness, possibly attenuating their cardiovascular risk. Therefore, it is essential to include overweight and obese girls in PA interventions to help them reap this important benefit.