Does increased physical activity in school affect children's executive function and aerobic fitness?

This study seeks to explore whether increased PA in school affects children's executive function and aerobic fitness. The "Active school" study was a 10-month randomized controlled trial. The sample included 449 children (10-11 years old) in five intervention and four control schools. The weekly interventions were 2×45 minutes physically active academic lessons, 5×10 minutes physically active breaks, and 5×10 minutes physically active homework. Aerobic fitness was measured using a 10-minute interval running test. Executive function was tested using four cognitive tests (Stroop, verbal fluency, digit span, and Trail Making). A composite score for executive function was computed and used in analyses. Mixed ANCOVA repeated measures were performed to analyze changes in scores for aerobic fitness and executive function. Analysis showed a tendency for a time×group interaction on executive function, but the results were non-significant F(1, 344)=3.64, P=.057. There was no significant time×group interaction for aerobic fitness. Results indicate that increased physical activity in school might improve children's executive function, even without improvement in aerobic fitness, but a longer intervention period may be required to find significant effects.

Cardiorespiratory fitness in groups with different physical activity levels.

The aim of the study was to determine how different categorizations of self-reported and objectively measured physical activity (PA) reflect variations in cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max ). A total of 759 individuals (366 women) with a mean age of 48.5 years (SD 14.4) wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT1M) for seven consecutive days and answered the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). VO2max was directly measured during a continuous graded exercise treadmill test until exhaustion. Men and women categorized as highly active by IPAQ had 9% and 13% higher VO2max , respectively, than those reporting a low PA level (P < 0.05). Men and women meeting the PA recommendation of 150 min/week of daily moderate intensity PA, measured by accelerometer, had 13% and 9% higher VO2max , respectively, than participants not meeting this recommendation (P < 0.01). No significant differences in average sedentary time, analyzed in total min/day and in bouts of 10 and 30 min, were found between participants with high or low cardiorespiratory fitness. However, women spent less time than men in bouts of sedentary behaviors. Self-reported PA by IPAQ and objectively measured PA by accelerometer were both useful instruments for detecting differences in VO2max .

Secular trends in aerobic fitness performance in a cohort of Norwegian adolescents.

The purpose of the present study was to compare 3000 m running test results between 1969 and 2009 in a cohort of Norwegian high school pupils. Between 1969 and 2009, a total of 4981 (2827 boys) 3000 m running tests were collected from two Norwegian senior high schools. One-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test was used to analyze the differences in the running times between the different decades. The running times have increased by 10% and 6% from the 1980s to the 2000s for boys and girls, respectively. The distribution showed a decline in aerobic fitness performance for all deciles. The largest negative change in difference was found for pupils with the poorest aerobic fitness level in both boys and girls. The cohort of 16- to 18-year-old boys and girls in the decade 2000-2009 had a poorer aerobic fitness performance in the 3000 m running test compared with earlier decades. The decline in running performance was greater for boys than girls, and the gap between the most and the least fit is becoming considerably larger.

Aerobic fitness in young Norwegian men: a comparison between 1980 and 2002.

The purpose of this study was to compare the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in 18-19-year-old Norwegian men from 1980 to 1985 and 2002. In addition, we investigated the relationship between VO2max and education and smoking habits in the sample from 2002. From 1980 to 1985, VO2max was predicted using the Astrand-Rhyming bicycle test for 183 610 eighteen-year-old Norwegian men (91% of the male Norwegian population in this age group). In 2002, the same test was performed on a representative sample of the same age population (N=1028). VO2max (mL x kg(-1)x min(-1)), decreased by 8%, body weight increased by 7% and body mass index (BMI) increased by 6% over the approximately 20-year period (P<0.01). Results from the 2002 sample revealed that smokers had a lower VO2max than non-smokers and vocational students had a lower VO2max than academic students (P<0.05). The average reduction in VO2max was because of an increased number of men with low or very low VO2max, and a reduced number of men with high VO2max values. This is of particular concern since the prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases is higher in groups with low VO2max.