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,

SUBMITTER: Sjowall D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5554341 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature