LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in a Swedish Elementary School
W
e read with great interest the article by Kall et al1 reporting on a controlled crosssectional intervention examining the hypothesis that additional, compulsory in-school physical activity would increase the academic achievement (ie, proportion of children achieving national learning goals) in Swedish elementary school. They found that the intervention group showed a 2-fold increased odds of achieving national learning goals whilst the odds remained unchanged for the reference schools, which led the authors to conclude ‘‘a link between physical activity and academic achievement.’’2(p478) We believe, however, that the results as currently presented do not support their conclusions because they did not include any measures of physical activity. In regard to this limitation, some evidence2 suggests that children who increase physical activity in one domain may compensate by decreased physical activity in another domain to maintain an overall stable level of physical activity. This compensatory change, referred to as the ActivityStat hypothesis,2 indicates that compulsory in-school physical activity will not necessary increase children’s whole-day physical activity. Although it has been concluded that a substantial body of literature has been overlooked in the ActivityStat debate,2 some studies with objectively measured physical activity have important implications in relation to Kall et al’s1 conclusion. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Metcalf et al3 pooled 30 interventions with objectively measured whole-day physical activity, and
the result suggested small to negligible increases in children’s physical activity with roughly 4 minutes more of walking per day. Although Wilkin et al4 reported that children who experienced 9 hours of weekly in-school physical education were more physically active during the school-day than their peers with less physical education (ie roughly 2 hours per week), weekly wholeday physical activity was the same. Moller et al5 analyzed a substantial sample of Danish children who attended either 6 or 2 lessons of compulsory in-school physical education per week. The authors detected that more in-school physical activity was compensated by less out-of-school physical activity and vice versa and, as such, no differences were revealed in terms of whole-day physical activity. In a Swedish study6 including 8- to 11-year-old children, everyday physical education did not result in higher volumes of wholeday physical activity (as measured by mean counts per minute), moderate or vigorous physical activity when compared to those children who experienced 2 physical education lessons per week. Given that Kall et al1 did not include any measures of physical activity and, as a consequence, were unable to control for a compensatory change, we believe their conclusion is not supported by their data. It is, however, not our intention to question the value of neither physical activity nor physical education; yet, we argue that it is essential to be cautious when interpreting data and that it is unreasonable to draw conclusions about something that has not been measured. To the best of our knowledge, only a few studies have examined levels of objectively measured physical activity in relation to academic achievement and the results differ.7-11 For example, Van
Journal of School Health
•
May 2015, Vol. 85, No. 5 •
Dijk et al7 found negative associations between whole-day physical activity and academic achievement, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and academic achievement among seventh graders, whereas both whole-day physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were positively associated with mathematics performance among ninth graders. Further, Syv¨aoja et al11 found no associations between moderateto-vigorous physical activity and academic achievement. Last, Kwak et al10 results showed positive associations between adolescent girls’ vigorous physical activity and academic achievement, although no association was detected between adolescent boys’ vigorous physical activity and academic achievement. Thus, we argue that there is insufficient evidence to support a positive link between physical activity and academic achievement. We do not, however, question the association between additionally compulsory in-school physical activity (eg physical education) and increased academic achievement, as there is evidence to support otherwise.1,12 ¨ ANDREAS FROBERG MSca a
PhD Student, ([email protected]), Gothenburg University, Box 300 40530, Gothenburg L¨aroverksgatan 7, 411 20 Gothenburg, Sweden.
LINUS JONSSON MScb bPhD Student, ([email protected]), Gothenburg
University, Box 300, 40530 Gothenburg, L¨aroverksgatan 7, 411 20 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Received on November 14, 2014 Accepted on January 23, 2015
REFERENCES 1. Kall LB, Nilsson M, Linden T. The impact of a physical activity intervention program on academic achievement in a Swedish elementary school setting. J Sch Health. 2014;84(8):473-480.
© 2015, American School Health Association • 277
2. Gomersall S, Rowlands A, English C, Maher C, Olds T. The ActivityStat hypothesis: the concept, the evidence and the methodologies. Sports Med. 2013;43:135-149. 3. Metcalf B, Henley W, Wilkin T. Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54). BMJ. 2012;345:e5888. 4. Wilkin T, Mallam K, Metcalf B, Jeffery A, Voss L. Variation in physical activity lies with the child, not his environment: evidence for an ’activitystat’ in young children (EarlyBird 16). Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;30:1050-1055. 5. Moller N, Tarp J, Kamelarczyk E, Brond J, Klakk H, Wedderkopp N. Do extra compulsory physical education lessons mean more physically active children - findings from the Childhood
278 •
Journal of School Health
•
6.
7.
8.
9.
Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School study Denmark (The CHAMPS-study DK). Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014;11(1):121. Dencker M, Thorsson O, Karlsson MK, et al. Daily physical activity in Swedish children aged 8-11 years. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2006;16(4):252-257. Van Dijk ML, De Groot RH, Savelberg HH, Van Acker F, Kirschner PA. The association between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement in Dutch adolescents: findings from the GOALS study. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2014;36(5):460-473. LeBlanc MM, Martin CK, Han H, et al. Adiposity and physical activity are not related to academic achievement in school-aged children. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2012;33(6):486-494. Donnelly JE, Greene JL, Gibson CA, et al. Physical Activity Across the
May 2015, Vol. 85, No. 5 •
Curriculum (PAAC): a randomized controlled trial to promote physical activity and diminish overweight and obesity in elementary school children. Prev Med. 2009;49(4):336-341. 10. Kwak L, Kremers SP, Bergman P, Ruiz JR, Rizzo NS, Sjostrom M. Associations between physical activity, fitness, and academic achievement. J Pediatr. 2009;155(6):914-918.e911. 11. Syvaoja HJ, Kantomaa MT, Ahonen T, Hakonen H, Kankaanpaa A, Tammelin TH. Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and academic performance in Finnish children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45(11):2098-2104. 12. Ericsson I, Karlsson MK. Motor skills and school performance in children with daily physical education in school - a 9-year intervention study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2014;24(2): 273-278.
© 2015, American School Health Association
Copyright of Journal of School Health is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in a Swedish Elementary School
W
e read with great interest the article by Kall et al1 reporting on a controlled crosssectional intervention examining the hypothesis that additional, compulsory in-school physical activity would increase the academic achievement (ie, proportion of children achieving national learning goals) in Swedish elementary school. They found that the intervention group showed a 2-fold increased odds of achieving national learning goals whilst the odds remained unchanged for the reference schools, which led the authors to conclude ‘‘a link between physical activity and academic achievement.’’2(p478) We believe, however, that the results as currently presented do not support their conclusions because they did not include any measures of physical activity. In regard to this limitation, some evidence2 suggests that children who increase physical activity in one domain may compensate by decreased physical activity in another domain to maintain an overall stable level of physical activity. This compensatory change, referred to as the ActivityStat hypothesis,2 indicates that compulsory in-school physical activity will not necessary increase children’s whole-day physical activity. Although it has been concluded that a substantial body of literature has been overlooked in the ActivityStat debate,2 some studies with objectively measured physical activity have important implications in relation to Kall et al’s1 conclusion. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Metcalf et al3 pooled 30 interventions with objectively measured whole-day physical activity, and
the result suggested small to negligible increases in children’s physical activity with roughly 4 minutes more of walking per day. Although Wilkin et al4 reported that children who experienced 9 hours of weekly in-school physical education were more physically active during the school-day than their peers with less physical education (ie roughly 2 hours per week), weekly wholeday physical activity was the same. Moller et al5 analyzed a substantial sample of Danish children who attended either 6 or 2 lessons of compulsory in-school physical education per week. The authors detected that more in-school physical activity was compensated by less out-of-school physical activity and vice versa and, as such, no differences were revealed in terms of whole-day physical activity. In a Swedish study6 including 8- to 11-year-old children, everyday physical education did not result in higher volumes of wholeday physical activity (as measured by mean counts per minute), moderate or vigorous physical activity when compared to those children who experienced 2 physical education lessons per week. Given that Kall et al1 did not include any measures of physical activity and, as a consequence, were unable to control for a compensatory change, we believe their conclusion is not supported by their data. It is, however, not our intention to question the value of neither physical activity nor physical education; yet, we argue that it is essential to be cautious when interpreting data and that it is unreasonable to draw conclusions about something that has not been measured. To the best of our knowledge, only a few studies have examined levels of objectively measured physical activity in relation to academic achievement and the results differ.7-11 For example, Van
Journal of School Health
•
May 2015, Vol. 85, No. 5 •
Dijk et al7 found negative associations between whole-day physical activity and academic achievement, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and academic achievement among seventh graders, whereas both whole-day physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were positively associated with mathematics performance among ninth graders. Further, Syv¨aoja et al11 found no associations between moderateto-vigorous physical activity and academic achievement. Last, Kwak et al10 results showed positive associations between adolescent girls’ vigorous physical activity and academic achievement, although no association was detected between adolescent boys’ vigorous physical activity and academic achievement. Thus, we argue that there is insufficient evidence to support a positive link between physical activity and academic achievement. We do not, however, question the association between additionally compulsory in-school physical activity (eg physical education) and increased academic achievement, as there is evidence to support otherwise.1,12 ¨ ANDREAS FROBERG MSca a
PhD Student, ([email protected]), Gothenburg University, Box 300 40530, Gothenburg L¨aroverksgatan 7, 411 20 Gothenburg, Sweden.
LINUS JONSSON MScb bPhD Student, ([email protected]), Gothenburg
University, Box 300, 40530 Gothenburg, L¨aroverksgatan 7, 411 20 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Received on November 14, 2014 Accepted on January 23, 2015
REFERENCES 1. Kall LB, Nilsson M, Linden T. The impact of a physical activity intervention program on academic achievement in a Swedish elementary school setting. J Sch Health. 2014;84(8):473-480.
© 2015, American School Health Association • 277
2. Gomersall S, Rowlands A, English C, Maher C, Olds T. The ActivityStat hypothesis: the concept, the evidence and the methodologies. Sports Med. 2013;43:135-149. 3. Metcalf B, Henley W, Wilkin T. Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54). BMJ. 2012;345:e5888. 4. Wilkin T, Mallam K, Metcalf B, Jeffery A, Voss L. Variation in physical activity lies with the child, not his environment: evidence for an ’activitystat’ in young children (EarlyBird 16). Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;30:1050-1055. 5. Moller N, Tarp J, Kamelarczyk E, Brond J, Klakk H, Wedderkopp N. Do extra compulsory physical education lessons mean more physically active children - findings from the Childhood
278 •
Journal of School Health
•
6.
7.
8.
9.
Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School study Denmark (The CHAMPS-study DK). Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014;11(1):121. Dencker M, Thorsson O, Karlsson MK, et al. Daily physical activity in Swedish children aged 8-11 years. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2006;16(4):252-257. Van Dijk ML, De Groot RH, Savelberg HH, Van Acker F, Kirschner PA. The association between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement in Dutch adolescents: findings from the GOALS study. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2014;36(5):460-473. LeBlanc MM, Martin CK, Han H, et al. Adiposity and physical activity are not related to academic achievement in school-aged children. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2012;33(6):486-494. Donnelly JE, Greene JL, Gibson CA, et al. Physical Activity Across the
May 2015, Vol. 85, No. 5 •
Curriculum (PAAC): a randomized controlled trial to promote physical activity and diminish overweight and obesity in elementary school children. Prev Med. 2009;49(4):336-341. 10. Kwak L, Kremers SP, Bergman P, Ruiz JR, Rizzo NS, Sjostrom M. Associations between physical activity, fitness, and academic achievement. J Pediatr. 2009;155(6):914-918.e911. 11. Syvaoja HJ, Kantomaa MT, Ahonen T, Hakonen H, Kankaanpaa A, Tammelin TH. Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and academic performance in Finnish children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45(11):2098-2104. 12. Ericsson I, Karlsson MK. Motor skills and school performance in children with daily physical education in school - a 9-year intervention study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2014;24(2): 273-278.
© 2015, American School Health Association
Copyright of Journal of School Health is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
