Health Education Final Project

Shannon Mondeaux

H EDU 1010-090

University of Utah
 Health Education Final Project

I chose to research a topic that is of great concern to me and one that is relevant to my

profession. Specifically, I wanted to find a peer reviewed article concerning the relationship

between exercise and cognition (or academic performance). Since I am a second-grade

teacher, I wanted to know more about how physical movement and aerobic exercise might

affect my students in the classroom. To my surprise, there was a plethora of recent studies that

have been conducted to answer this question. I chose to focus on an article from the US

National Library of Medicine titled, Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition, Academic

Achievement, and Psychosocial Function in Children: A Systematic Review of Randomized

Control Trials (Lees & Hopkins, 2013). This article has shed light on many of my questions

about childrens exercise.

As the title states, this peer reviewed article provided an extensive review of studies that

have addressed the question of whether aerobic exercise is positively or negatively correlated

with childrens cognitive, academic, and psychosocial functioning. I was pleased to read that

the results of the various studies proved a positive correlation in all three of the dimensions.

This research is significant because there has been a variety of unquestionable studies that

have unanimously proven the relationship between physical exercise and physical health, but

not as much research has been completed about childrens physical exercise and their

cognitive, academic, and psychosocial health.

One thing that was really interesting to me is that aerobic physical exercise was proven

to increase memory and neurogenesis. As stated in the article, In children, a positive

relationship between aerobic fitness, hippocampal volume, and memory has been found (Lees

& Hopkins, 2013). The area of the brain that is responsible for memory, the hippocampus,

increases in size over time when children do aerobic exercise. In addition, the speed and
connection of neurons in the brain increase when aerobic exercise is implemented consistently.

This was exhilarating information to me because I am consistently finding ways to increase my

students memory and their conception of my lessons.

Although only one study that was reviewed explored the effect of aerobic physical

activity on mental health, I was surprised to read that children who exercised are less likely to

suffer from mental health disorders. According to the text, Mental health outcomes included

reduced depression and increased self-esteem, although no change was found in anxiety

levels (Lees & Hopkins, 2013). It did not occur to me that this would be a correlation would

apply to children, but I am appreciative of this data. Several of my students suffer from low self-

esteem, and I know that their academic achievement may increase with an increase in self-

esteem.

Furthermore, I was excited to read about the positive relationship between aerobic

physical activity on academic achievement. The article stated that Donnelly et al (19) found

significant improvements in academic achievement over 3 years of follow-up in schools with

APA programs, and Reed et al (22) found that children participating in APA, even engaging only

in moderate-intensity APA as measured by pedometers (23), performed significantly better on

intelligence testing and state tests on social studies (Lees & Hopkins, 2013). Although the

studies did not signify a large difference in academic scores, this information is still impressive

to me.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed thoroughly reading this information for several reasons.

For example, I believe that my students need more exercise and I will try to increase their

interest in aerobic exercise. I can tell them about my own exercise and encourage them to play

games that involve aerobic exercise at recess. Although I do not have children of my own yet, it
is important that I become a role model for my own kids someday. With rates of childhood

obesity rising, I want to try my best to defy the statistics and have a positive health influence on

children that I interact with. I appreciate this research because now I understand the health

benefits of aerobic exercise on several dimensions of childrens health.

References

Lees, C., & Hopkins, J. (2013). Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition, Academic Achievement,
and Psychosocial Function in Children: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control
Trials. Preventing Chronic Disease, 10, E174. http://doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130010