Physical inactivity has been shown to increase the risk for several chronic diseases across the lifespan. However, the impact of physical activity and aerobic fitness on childhood cognitive and brain health has only recently gained attention. The purposes of this article are to: 1) highlight the recent emphasis for increasing physical activity and aerobic fitness in children’s lives for cognitive and brain health; 2) present aspects of brain development and cognitive function that are susceptible to physical activity intervention; 3) review neuroimaging studies examining the cross-sectional and experimental relationships between aerobic fitness and executive control function; and 4) make recommendations for future research. Given that the human brain is not fully developed until the third decade of life, preadolescence is characterized by changes in brain structure and function underlying aspects of cognition including executive control and relational memory. Achieving adequate physical activity and maintaining aerobic fitness in childhood may be a critical guideline to follow for physical as well as cognitive and brain health.
Search Results
The Relation of Childhood Physical Activity and Aerobic Fitness to Brain Function and Cognition: A Review
Naiman A. Khan and Charles H. Hillman
Comparison Between Lactate Minimum and Critical Speed Throughout Childhood and Adolescence in Swimmers
Paulo V. Mezzaroba, Marcelo Papoti, and Fabiana A. Machado
This study aimed to examine the influence of age and degree of maturity on the comparison and relationship between lactate minimum intensity (LM) and critical speed (CS) throughout childhood and adolescence in swimmers. Forty-six male swimmers aged between 10 and 18 years were divided into three age groups according to pubertal stages and training status. Maximal efforts of 100 and 400 m and the LM protocol with 200 m performances were executed. CS was determined with a 3-distances combination (100, 200, and 400 m). One-way and mixed analysis of variance for repeated measures, Bland-Altman, Pearson correlation, percentage difference, and effect size were used to compare and examine the relationship between variables in each age group. The results revealed that LM and CS had differences in comparison with one another throughout childhood and adolescence in swimmers, because CS clearly underestimated LM in the 10 to 12.6-year age group, while overestimating it in the 15.4 to 18-year age group of swimmers. Thus, coaches and swimmers must be aware of the age-dependency of CS for indices of aerobic endurance measurements in the initial ages of systematized swimming training.
Relationship Between Fundamental Motor Skill Competence and Physical Activity During Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review
Samuel W. Logan, E. Kipling Webster, Nancy Getchell, Karin A. Pfeiffer, and Leah E. Robinson
The purpose of this review is to synthesize the evidence of the relationship between fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence and physical activity by qualitatively describing results from 13 studies that met rigorous inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria: (a) published in a peer-review journal, (b) participants were between the ages of 3–18, (c) participants were typically developing, (d) FMS was measured by a process-oriented assessment, (e) assessed physical activity, (f) related FMS and physical activity through statistical procedures, and (g) printed in English. Databases were searched for relevant articles using key terms related to FMS and physical activity. Evidence suggested low to moderate relationships between FMS competence and physical activity in early childhood (r = .16 to .48; R 2 = 3–23%, 4 studies), low to high relationships in middle to late childhood (r = .24 to .55; R 2 = 6–30%, 7 studies), and low to moderate relationships in adolescence (r = .14 to .35; R 2 = 2–12.3%, 2 studies). Across ages, object control skills and locomotor skills were more strongly related to physical activity for boys and girls, respectively. Future research should emphasize experimental and longitudinal research designs to provide further understanding of the relationship between FMS competence and physical activity.
Associations Between Parental Perceptions of the Neighborhood Environment and Childhood Physical Activity: Results from ISCOLE-Kenya
Stella K. Muthuri, Lucy-Joy M. Wachira, Vincent O. Onywera, and Mark S. Tremblay
Background:
A physical activity transition to declining activity levels, even among children, now poses a serious public health concern because of its contribution to a rising prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. Childhood physical activity levels are associated with parental perceptions of the neighborhood; however, these relationships have not been explored in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective was to investigate relationships between parental perceptions of the neighborhood and physical activity indicators among Kenyan children.
Methods:
Data were collected from children 9 to 11 years old in Nairobi as part of the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and Environment. Child physical activity was assessed by accelerometry, and information on obtaining sufficient physical activity, active transport, and parental perceptions of the neighborhood collected using questionnaires.
Results:
Of 563 participating children, 45.7%, 12.6%, and 11.4% used active school transportation, met physical activity guidelines, and were sufficiently active, respectively. Parental perception of positive neighborhood social cohesion, positive environs and connectivity, and negative child safety concerns, were associated with child physical activity outcomes.
Conclusions:
Aspects of parental perceptions of the neighborhood were associated with child physical activity outcomes and should be further explored to appropriately inform policy and practice in curbing declining physical activity levels among children in SSA.
Gender Differences in Psychosocial Factors Associated with Athletic Success during Childhood
Nicholas L. Holt and David Morley
The purposes of this study were to (a) identify psychosocial factors associated with athletic success by talented English school children and (b) examine potential gender differences in their perceptions of athletic success. Thirty-nine athletically talented English children (20 females, 19 males, M age = 13 years, SD = 1.4 years) participated in structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and subjected to an inductive-deductive analysis procedure. Results revealed nine categories (comprising 28 themes) of psychosocial factors associated with athletic success during childhood: Ambitions, Choice of Sport, Motives, Success Attributions, Sacrifices, Obstacles, Emotional Support, Informational Support, and Tangible Support. Gender differences are considered and findings are compared to previous talent development and youth sport research.
Childhood Physical Activity May or May Not Provide Sustained Effects to Protect Adults From Osteoporosis
Kathleen F. Janz and Shelby L. Francis
Although there is strong and consistent evidence that childhood and adolescent physical activity is osteogenic, the evidence concerning its sustained effects to adult bone health is not conclusive. Therefore the value of interventions, in addition to beneficial bone adaptation, could be exposure to activities children enjoy and therefore continue. As such, interventions should provide skills, pleasure, and supportive environments to ensure continued bone-strengthening physical activity with age. Until the dose-response as well as timing of physical activity to bone health is more fully understood, it is sensible to assume that physical activity is needed throughout the lifespan to improve and maintain skeletal health. Current federal guidelines for health-related physical activity, which explicitly recommend bone-strengthening physical activities for youth, should also apply to adults.
Chronic Diseases, Exercise, and Physical Activity in Childhood: 2015 in Review
Tim Takken
The year of 2015 was a fruitful year in the field of chronic diseases, exercise, and physical activity in childhood. Many interesting papers came out on this topic. Exercise testing and prescription in children with chronic disease and disability is an increasingly studied area in which many disciplines are involved including pediatric physical therapy, medicine, nursing, physical education, and exercise physiology. This multidisciplinary aspect is reflected in the journals in which my highlighted publications (below) were published. Because no single discipline has the ownership of exercise testing and prescription and because different disciplines use different jargon, it is difficult to have the scientific knowledge translated to the clinic. A few years ago we initiated the Pediatric Exercise Medicine Network (PEMNet) to close this knowledge translation gap.
Right From the Start: Promotion of Health-Related Physical Activity in Preschoolers
Don W. Morgan
A growing body of literature has confirmed the health benefits of regular physical activity in school-aged youth. However, less systematic attention has been directed toward establishing activity profiles and evaluating the impact of community-based interventions designed to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in preschool children. In this paper, current findings are reviewed to determine whether preschoolers are achieving sufficient levels of structured and unstructured physical activity and to identify potential correlates of activity and sedentary behavior in the young child. In addition, promotion of physical activity among preschool-aged children in selected community settings is discussed and future research initiatives are highlighted. Given current trends in the overweight and obesity status of children aged two to five years, efforts aimed at increasing physical activity levels and documenting gains in health-related fitness and movement skillfulness in this pediatric population should be accelerated.
Weight Status, Physical Activity, and Vascular Health in 9- to 12-Year-Old Children
Heather M. Hayes, Joey C. Eisenmann, Karin Pfeiffer, and Joseph J. Carlson
Background:
The purpose of this study was to determine the independent and joint association of weight status and physical activity on resting blood pressure and C-reactive protein in children.
Methods:
Participants were 174 (71 males, 103 females) children (mean age = 10.5 ± 0.4 yrs). Physical activity was self-reported, body mass index was calculated from measured height and body mass, and blood pressure was measured according to standard procedures. A subset of 91 children had C-reactive protein measured by fingerstick blood sample. Four weight/physical activity groups were created by cross tabulation of weight status classification and physical activity level.
Results:
The prevalence of low physical activity (< 5 days/wk moderate-vigorous activity) did not differ between overweight and normal weight children (50%). Physical activity was not correlated with C-reactive protein (r = 0.01; P = 0.91) and C-reactive protein was not significantly different between physical activity groups (P = 0.87). Physical activity did not modify the difference in blood pressure or C-reactive protein within weight categories.
Conclusions:
Fatness (specifically overweight and obesity), but not physical activity, was shown to be associated with blood pressure and C-reactive protein levels in children. Physical activity did not attenuate blood pressure or C-reactive protein in overweight and obese children.
Patterns of Specialization in Professional Baseball Players
Richard D. Ginsburg, Steven R. Smith, Nicole Danforth, T. Atilla Ceranoglu, Stephen A. Durant, Hayley Kamin, Rebecca Babcock, Lucy Robin, and Bruce Masek
Two developmental pathways to sport excellence have been described: early specialization and early sampling (Côté, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009). Despite a common assumption that early specialization (defined as playing one sport exclusively and intensely before age 12) is a necessary precursor to success at the collegiate or professional levels, research to support this assumption remains unclear. To add to this literature, the current study was a survey of 708 minor league professional baseball players on the ages at which they began to specialize in their sport. Results indicated that most players sampled a diversity of sports up through late adolescence. Only 25% of players specialized before the age of 12 and the mean age of specialization was 15 years. Furthermore, those who specialized later were more likely to receive college scholarships. Finally, we examined patterns of specialization as a function of athletes’ home climate and culture. At least in this sample of professional minor league baseball players, an early sampling pathway seems to have fortified success at both the collegiate and professional levels.
