Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Performance in Multiple Domains of Executive Functions in School-Aged Adolescents

A study on the correlation between physical fitness index and executive function in Chinese adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between physical fitness index and executive function in Chinese adolescents, and to provide a reference for improving the development of executive function in Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

From September to December 2023, 5336 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years were selected by stratified whole cluster random sampling method in six regions of China for physical fitness and executive function tests. The relationship between adolescent physical fitness index and executive function was analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and logistic regression.

RESULTS

The correlation coefficients between adolescents' physical fitness index and inhibitory control reaction time were all 0.00094, p > 0.05; the correlation coefficients between adolescents' physical fitness index and working memory (1-back, 2-back) reaction time were -0.13 and -0.093, respectively, p < .05; the correlation coefficients between adolescents' physical fitness index and cognitive flexibility reaction time were -0.17 and -0.18, p < .05. Logistic regression analyses showed that 1-back, 2-back, and cognitive flexibility were significantly and positively correlated with physical fitness index in Models 1, 2, and 3 (all p values less than.01). The coefficients of inhibitory control were not significant in all three models (p > .05), and there was no significant relationship with physical fitness index.

CONCLUSION

The physical fitness index of Chinese adolescents has a significant positive correlation with working memory and cognitive flexibility, but not with inhibitory control, i.e. the higher the physical fitness index, the better the working memory and cognitive flexibility.

Association between soybean product consumption and executive function in Chinese Tibetan children and adolescents

Objective

This sought to explore the association between soybean product consumption and executive function (EF) in Chinese Tibetan adolescents in high-altitude areas.

Methods

A total of 1,184 Tibetan children and adolescents were tested on demographic variables, soybean product consumption, and executive function in Lhasa and Nagchu regions of Tibet, China, using stratified whole population sampling. One-way ANOVA, linear regression analysis, and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the associations existing between soybean product consumption and executive function.

Results

The proportions of Hardly ever, Occasionally, and Often in Soy Consumption among Tibetan children and adolescents in high altitude areas of Tibet, China were 21.7, 50.3, and 28.0%, respectively. The difference in 2 back reaction time among Tibetan children and adolescents with different soybean product consumption was statistically significant (F = 6.374, p = 0.002). The difference in conversion function reaction time was also statistically significant (F = 8.129, p < 0.001). Taking the soybean product consumption ≥6 t/w group as the reference group, after adjusting the relevant factors, those with soybean product consumption ≤1 t/w showed a statistically significant increase in Inhibit Function Dysfunction (OR = 1.844, 95% CI: 1.152, 2.951) and Conversion Function Dysfunction (OR = 2.008, 95% CI: 1.106, 3.646) had an increased risk of Conversion Function Dysfunction (OR = 2.008, 95% CI: 1.106, 3.646), which was significantly different (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

There is an association between soybean product consumption and inhibitory control and translational flexibility of brain executive functions in Chinese Tibetan children and children and adolescents at high altitude.

[Factors associated with academic performance in adolescents from La Rioja (Spain): lifestyle habits, health indicators, and sociodemographic factors]

Introduction

Introduction: academic performance is influenced by numerous factors, some personal and others contextual in nature, which also have a close relationship with the health of students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the relationship and influence of lifestyle habits, various physical and psychosocial health indicators, and sociodemographic variables on academic performance. Method: the study was carried out on a sample of 761 students (14.51 ± 1.63 years old) from 25 educational centers in a region of northern Spain. Academic performance was assessed, as well as health-related quality of life, self-esteem, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, hours of nocturnal sleep, level of physical activity, environment for the practice of physical activity, participation in extra-curricular sports activities, maximum oxygen consumption, body mass index, and various sociodemographic factors. Results: being male, having immigrant origins, as well as having a low/medium socioeconomic level, a cardiorespiratory capacity in the risk zone, lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and lower health-related quality of life indices were associated with lower academic performance, explaining up to 14 % of its variance according to the regression analysis. Likewise, adolescents with higher self-esteem, lower body mass index, females, those who lived in a favorable environment for physical activity practice, engaged in extra-curricular physical activity, and had a higher number of hours of nocturnal sleep showed higher levels of academic performance. Conclusions: interventions aimed at combating academic failure should take into account the aforementioned associated factors, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable groups such as males, those with lower socioeconomic status, and those who follow unhealthy lifestyle habits.

Association between aerobic fitness and attentional functions in Egyptian preadolescent children

Growing evidence indicates that culture and education can influence cognitive constructs. Studies targeting Western and Asian populations have shown a positive relationship between aerobic fitness and cognitive control in children; however, this association has yet to be explored in the Arab world. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between aerobic fitness and attentional networks in Egyptian preadolescent children. In total, 103 preadolescent children (9.76 ± 0.11) completed an assessment of aerobic fitness using a 6-min running test and a computerized attention network test that allowed for assessing alerting, orienting, and executive networks. The results revealed that higher aerobic fitness was associated with shorter response time and higher response accuracy in a more cognitively demanding task condition (i.e., incongruent trials). Furthermore, higher aerobic fitness was associated with a more efficient executive network. No associations were observed for alerting and orienting networks. These findings corroborate growing evidence indicating the importance of aerobic fitness for cognitive development and extend the literature by suggesting that the positive association between aerobic fitness and cognitive control might be generalized to the Arab population and not significantly change across cultures.

Students from a Public School in the South of Chile with Better Physical Fitness Markers Have Higher Performance in Executive Functions Tests-Cross-Sectional Study

In the past few years, the level of physical fitness in children has decreased globally. According to the SIMCE test carried out in 2015, 45% of 8th year students in Chile were overweight. Moreover, international studies have shown that being overweight is associated with the development of chronic illnesses, negatively affecting cognitive mechanisms and processes. Nevertheless, there is little to no evidence that analyzes the relationship between physical fitness and executive functions in students, at a national level. The aim was to analyze the relationship between cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and motor fitness, and performance in an executive functions test, in students from a public school in the south of Chile. A qualitative, descriptive -correlational, non-experimental, and cross-sectional approach was used. In total, 100 students between 9 and 12 and 11 months of age from a public school in the south of Chile completed the physical fitness assessments through the ALPHA fitness test, and 81 students completed the executive function assessments through the ENFEN test. It was evidenced that students who achieved a longer duration of time and a later stage in the Course Navette test, more centimeters in the standing broad jump (SBJ) test, and a shorter duration in the 4 × 10 shuttle run obtained a better score in the gray trail test. Additionally, students who presented a stronger dominant handgrip scored higher in the colored trail tests. We conclude that students who show a higher level of physical fitness also present a better development of executive functions such as working memory and inhibitory control. In addition, these results suggest physical condition is a factor to consider for better cognitive and school performance.

Aerobic fitness and fine motor skills are related to switching and updating in typically developing children

Movement is essential for everyday life and closely related to cognitive skills. The aim of the current research was to investigate whether different aspects of physical activity, i.e., aerobic fitness and motor skills, contribute above and beyond each other to the variance in children's executive functioning. Children aged 8-13 years (N = 129, 58 females, M_age = 10.7 years, SD_age = 1.6 years) participated in the current cross-sectional study. Aerobic fitness was assessed by the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Motor skills were assessed using the standardized Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition (M-ABC-2), including fine motor skills, balance skills, and object control. Components of executive functions (inhibition, switching, updating) were assessed using the following tasks: an animal Stroop task, a local-global task, and a 2n-back task. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to analyze the relative importance of aerobic fitness and motor skills for children's executive functions. Results indicated that aerobic fitness and fine motor skills were significantly related to switching and updating, whereas relations to inhibition were non-significant. Furthermore, it was found that fine motor skills explained additional variance above aerobic fitness in switching and updating whereas aerobic fitness did not add additional variance above fine motor skills in switching and updating. Balance and object control skills were not related to the three core executive functions. Results support the notion that aerobic fitness and fine motor skills are differently related to executive functions and highlight the importance of considering multiple components of constructs in future research.

Is there a relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive performance as function of mental workload in young adults?

In the current study, we have decided to investigate the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive functions in young adults as a function of mental workload. To achieve our objectives, we have solicited 29 young adults (18–25 years; 12 women) who have first realized the Random Number Generation (RNG) task with two levels of complexity. After each level of complexity, the participants were asked to report on their perceived difficulty. Secondly, participants performed the RABIT® test, during which oxygen consumption was measured through the Metamax 3B-R2. The results showed that executive performance and perceived difficulty deteriorate with increasing task complexity. Additionally, oxygen consumption increased significantly to reach a peak during the hardest phase of the RABIT® test. Finally, as in previous studies, we could not observe a correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive functions. Our findings support the lack of a direct relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive functions. Future studies should explore the relationship between the composite measure of executive function, hemodynamic activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy youth and their peers with cardiovascular disease. This will examine an indirect effect of Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on Executive functions (EFs) through brain activity.

Effects of the Type of Sports Practice on the Executive Functions of Schoolchildren

There is a close relationship between the development of complex motor skills and executive functions during childhood. This study aimed to analyze the differences in different dimensions of executive functions in children practicing an open-skill sport (handball) and a closed-skill sport (athletics) and controls who did not participate in sports activities after a 12-week intervention period. School-aged male and female subjects (n = 90; mean ± standard deviation = 11.45 ± 0.68 years) participated in a non-randomized controlled study. Data analysis was performed using the STATA V.15 statistical software. The athletics intervention promoted semantic fluency (p = 0.007), whereas handball increased inhibition (p = 0.034). Additionally, physical activity improved in both intervention groups (p = < 0.001), whereas sprint performance improved in the handball group following intervention (p = 0.008), lower body muscular power improved in athletics (p = 0.04), and evidence of improvement in upper body muscular strength was noted in handball (p = 0.037). In turn, an increase in the Physical Activity Questionnaire for older Children score showed an association with the Standard Ten scores of executive functions. In conclusion, compared to controls, both athletics and handball induced meaningful improvements in physical activity and executive functions. However, sport-specific adaptations were noted after athletics (i.e., semantic fluency and lower body muscular power) and handball (i.e., inhibition, sprint, and upper-body muscular strength).