Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Jan;30(1):91-8.
doi: 10.1037/a0021766.

Exercise improves executive function and achievement and alters brain activation in overweight children: a randomized, controlled trial

Catherine L Davis  1 , Phillip D Tomporowski, Jennifer E McDowell, Benjamin P Austin, Patricia H Miller, Nathan E Yanasak, Jerry D Allison, Jack A Naglieri
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Exercise improves executive function and achievement and alters brain activation in overweight children: a randomized, controlled trial

Catherine L Davis et al. Health Psychol. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: This experiment tested the hypothesis that exercise would improve executive function.

Design: Sedentary, overweight 7- to 11-year-old children (N = 171, 56% girls, 61% Black, M ± SD age = 9.3 ± 1.0 years, body mass index [BMI] = 26 ± 4.6 kg/m², BMI z-score = 2.1 ± 0.4) were randomized to 13 ± 1.6 weeks of an exercise program (20 or 40 min/day), or a control condition.

Main outcome measures: Blinded, standardized psychological evaluations (Cognitive Assessment System and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III) assessed cognition and academic achievement. Functional MRI measured brain activity during executive function tasks.

Results: Intent to treat analysis revealed dose-response benefits of exercise on executive function and mathematics achievement. Preliminary evidence of increased bilateral prefrontal cortex activity and reduced bilateral posterior parietal cortex activity attributable to exercise was also observed.

Conclusion: Consistent with results obtained in older adults, a specific improvement on executive function and brain activation changes attributable to exercise were observed. The cognitive and achievement results add evidence of dose-response and extend experimental evidence into childhood. This study provides information on an educational outcome. Besides its importance for maintaining weight and reducing health risks during a childhood obesity epidemic, physical activity may prove to be a simple, important method of enhancing aspects of children's mental functioning that are central to cognitive development. This information may persuade educators to implement vigorous physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Participant flow diagram.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Axial views displaying blood oxygenation level dependent percent signal change associated with antisaccade performance from one-sample analysis at three different levels in the brain. Data from 39 sessions (20 children at baseline, 19 at posttest) are shown radiologically oriented (right hemisphere on left side). Colors from pink to yellow indicate increasing antisaccade-related percent signal change. The background is an anatomical image averaged over 20 participants. FEF, frontal eye field; PPC, posterior parietal cortex; SEF, supplementary eye field; PFC, prefrontal cortex.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Executive function (Planning) at posttest adjusted for sex, parent education, and baseline score, and math achievement means (SE) at posttest adjusted for race, parent education, and baseline score, showing dose response effects of the aerobic exercise program.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Boxplots by experimental condition showing change in activation from baseline to posttest. Left panel: prefrontal cortex. Right panel: posterior parietal cortex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Best JR, Miller PH, Jones LL. Executive function after age 5: Changes and correlates. Developmental Review. 2009;29(3):180–200. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blair C. School readiness. Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children's functioning at school entry. American Psychologist. 2002;57:111–127. - PubMed
    1. Camchong J, Dyckman KA, Austin BP, Clementz BA, McDowell JE. Common neural circuitry supporting volitional saccades and its disruption in schizophrenia patients and relatives. Biological Psychiatry. 2008;64:1042–1050. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Camchong J, Dyckman KA, Chapman CE, Yanasak NE, McDowell JE. Basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuitry disruptions in schizophrenia during delayed response tasks. Biological Psychiatry. 2006;60:235–241. - PubMed
    1. Castelli DM, Hillman CH, Buck SM, Erwin HE. Physical fitness and academic achievement in third- and fifth-grade students. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2007;29:239–252. - PubMed

Publication types

  NODES
Association 3
twitter 2