Physical fitness and academic performance in students

¶ … Physical Fitness Improve Academic Success?

The objective of this work is to review literature which answers the question of whether physical fitness improves academic success.

Discussion of General Background Literature

The work of Gazmararian (2005) states that: "Health professionals and educators have long believed that a positive relationship exists between physical activity and academic performance. However, the existing empirical research on the relationship between physical activity and physical fitness with academic performance is sparse, particularly among elementary and school children." Gazmararian state that two review papers have revealed that taking time from the school day for physical education does not result in achievement scores being reduced..." And that there are others that show that increasing levels of physical activity may improve the academic performance of students. Preliminary data coming out of a longitudinal study in California schools that has sought to establish whether students enrolled in physical education score better on Standardized Achievement Testing (SAT) shows that."..higher physical fitness levels of students in grades 5th, 7th and 9th are associated with higher academic achievement." (Gazmararian, 2005)

Stated in the work entitled: "Symposium on Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Academic Performance" is that inactivity on the physical level had "contributed to this unprecedented epidemic of childhood obesity, and the problem of physical activity is of particular concern in Georgia." In a survey, specifically the Georgia Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data for the year 2003 revealed that students in the state of Georgia are not active physically. Stated is: (1) More than one in three (36%) females do not participate in vigorous physical activity; (2) more than one in three (29%) of males do not engage in vigorous physical activity; (3) more than a third (35%) do not attend physical education classes one or more times per week; and (4) 23% of middle school males and 26% of middle school females describe themselves as slightly or very overweight." (NIHCM, 2005) Georgia is not the only U.S. state identifying obesity problems among students. Obesity problems have also been reported in the State of California and in fact, in the work entitled: "Student Health Taking Center Stage" related are the recommendations of the Obesity Task Force for schools who state the following recommendations in combating obesity in school children: (1) Increase the quality and quantity of instruction in physical education to provide more physical activity and enhance student achievement of California's Physical Education Model Content Standards; (2) Increase the quality and quantity of health education to promote healthful eating and physical activity; and (3) Ensure the availability and quality of healthy foods and beverages served and sold at and by schools." (Bucceri, 2005)

The Executive Summary of the work entitled: "Healthy Children, Healthy Schools" states that the largest portion of youth in the United States are:."..sedentary and do not eat well. These unhealthful practices can lead to learning problems in school and health-related problems that may begin during school-age years and continue into adulthood." (NIHCM, 2004) Studies have linked nutritional intake and academic performance and have stated links between physical activity and academic achievement. In a meta-analysis of approximately 200 studies related to effectiveness of exercise on cognitive functioning state findings that physical exercise on a regular basis better supports learning.

The problem that exists is that schools all across the United States have reduced the amount of time that is allotted for recess and physical education classes. The irony that exists is that there is little to no research to support these tactics while plenty of research exists that shows that physical education reduction undermines the academic performance of students while allotting time for physical exercise gives support to the goals of increased academic performance. The 'Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is reported to be a public-private partnership inclusive of over 40 national organization and agencies of the government that represent education, physical activity, health and nutrition. AFHK is stated to be:."..comprised of 51 states teams that have enlisted nearly 5,000 volunteers including school administrators, educators, health professionals, and other committed individuals." (NIHCM, 2004) The goal is the improvement of the eating habits and physical activity levels of students through education of administrators, teachers, parents, and the students concerning nutrition issues and physical activity and the role played by each in terms of academic achievement.

Actions that are suggested for implementation at schools by the AFHK are those as follows:

1) "Form a school health advisory council;

2) Develop a comprehensive wellness policy;

3) Integrate physical activity and nutrition education into the regular school;

4) Incorporate nutrition education and physical activity into after-school programs; and 5) Encourage staff to model healthy lifestyles." (NIHCM, 2004)

The 'Action for Healthy Kids' leaders and partners developed the October 2002 "Commitment to Change" which had as its basis the report of the Surgeon General the 'Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity' states twelve 'best practices' in the school environment for providing support to the health and readiness learn needs of students while protecting schools from costs and risks that have been found to be associated with."..poor nutrition and physical inactivity." (NIHCM, 2004)

Those twelve best practices are:

Provide age-appropriate and culturally sensitive instruction in health education and physical education that helps students develop the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors to adopt, maintain, and enjoy healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle.

Provide students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 with behavior-focused nutrition education integrated into the curriculum that is interactive and teaches the skills they need to adopt healthy eating habits.

Ensure that meals offered through all school feeding programs meet federal nutrition standards.

Adopt policies ensuring that all foods and beverages available on school campuses and at school events contribute toward eating patterns that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Provide food options that are low in fat, calories, and added sugars, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods.

Ensure that healthy snacks and foods are provided in vending machines, school stores, and other venues within the school's control.

Prohibit student access to vending machines, school stores, and other venues that contain foods of minimal nutritional value and that compete with healthy school meals in elementary schools, and restrict access to such foods in middle, junior, and high schools;

Provide an adequate amount of time for students to eat school meals, and schedule lunch periods at reasonable hours around midday.

Provide all children, from pre-kindergarten through grade 2, with quality daily physical education that helps develop the knowledge, attitudes, skills, behaviors, and confidence needed to be physically active for life. "

Provide daily recess periods for elementary school students, featuring time for unstructured but supervised active play.

Provide adequate co-curricular physical activity programs, including fully inclusive intramural programs, physical activity clubs, and after-school programs that include physical activity; and Encourage the use of school facilities for physical activity programs offered by the school and/or community-based organizations outside of school hours. (NIHCM, 2004)

III. Conclusions of the Literature Review

Obesity among school children has been noted as being a problem in many U.S. states in recent years with schools attempting to address these problems. One major factor that is only making obesity a further problem and is as well perpetuating diminishing grades for students is the stringent standards set out for testing by the "No Child Left Behind Act" which is referred to as 'every child left behind' by many teachers in the United States. The focus on testing has resulted in physical education classes being reduced in terms of the time and importance allotted to these classes and that time being instead diverted to core curriculum in the attempt to raise scores on the Standardized Achievement Tests (SAT) of students.

Recent studies have shown that physical education supports academic achievement and that lack of physical education results in lower grades for students. The findings of recent studies are stated to be of an empirical nature. For instance, this literature review related the study conducted by Paul Zientarski which showed that physical education classes just prior to remedial reading classes raised student's scores 1.4 grade levels. (Breslin, 2006) The work of Siegel (2006) related findings that: "physical fitness has a positive effect on the cognitive function and academic performance of children." The work of Coe, et al. (2005) related a study which states findings that academic achievement was found to be significantly related to physical education enrollment and that vigorous physical activities were shown to be associated with scoring higher on grades. The Surgeon General has laid out twelve best practices for schools which include physical education instruction that is age appropriate and cultural sensitive that assist students in the development of "the knowledge attitudes, skills, and behaviors to adopt, maintain, and enjoy healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle." (NIHCM, 2004) Furthermore the Surgeon General states that schools should offer meals that meet nutritional standards and ensure that the vending machines and school stores offer snacks that are healthy. The provision of physical education and recess periods are inclusive of the twelve best practices stated by the Surgeon General as well.