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Purpose: This study determines the effect of movement games on executive function among overweight children. Methods: Forty-four overweight children received an intervention of movement games, and 40 overweight children participated in original physical education lessons. An intervention of movement games was conducted three times a week for 8 consecutive weeks. Neuropsychological tasks and the Stroop and determination tests were assessed pre- and postintervention. Results: The results indicated that movement games enhanced the children’s performance in the inhibitory control and attentional function, particularly in the interference tendency condition, whereas no performance improvement was noted in the original physical education lessons. Conclusion: The findings indicate that movement games can be utilized as a useful intervention for improving the attentional and inhibitory problems of overweight children. School authorities should consider incorporating these activities into programs related to physical and health education.

This study examined the effects of acute aerobic exercise on sustained attention and discriminatory ability of children with and without learning disabilities (LD). Fifty-one children with LD and 49 typically developing children were randomly assigned to exercise or control groups. The participants in the exercise groups performed a 30-min session of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, whereas the control groups watched a running/exercise-related video. Neuropsychological tasks, the Daueraufmerksamkeit sustained attention test, and the determination tests were assessed before and after each treatment. Exercise significantly benefited performance in sustained attention and discriminatory ability, particularly in higher accuracy rate and shorter reaction time. In addition, the LD exercise group demonstrated greater improvement than the typically developing exercise group. The findings suggest that the acute aerobic exercise influenced the sustained attention and the discriminatory function in children with LD by enhancing regulation of mental states and allocation of attentional resources.