Review
Physical activity interventions and children's mental function: An introduction and overview

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Abstract

Background

This review provides a historical overview of physical activity interventions designed by American educators and an evaluation of research that has assessed the effects of exercise on children's mental function.

Method

Historical descriptions of the emergence of American physical education doctrine throughout the 20th century were evaluated. Prior reviews of studies that assessed the effects of single acute bouts of exercise and the effects of chronic exercise training on children's mental function were examined and the results of recent studies were summarized.

Results

Physical activity interventions designed for American children have reflected two competing views: activities should promote physical fitness and activities should promote social, emotional, and intellectual development. Research results indicate that exercise fosters the emergence of children's mental function; particularly executive functioning. The route by which physical activity impacts mental functioning is complex and is likely moderated by several variables, including physical fitness level, health status, and numerous psycho-social factors.

Conclusion

Physical activity interventions for children should be designed to meet multiple objectives; e.g., optimize physical fitness, promote health-related behaviors that offset obesity, and facilitate mental development.

Section snippets

Overview

Numerous health organizations (CDC, WHO, Health and Human Services) and members of scientific communities (ACSM) have outlined the benefits of physical activity for children and adolescents. Likewise, popular books (Ratey and Spark, 2008), magazines, and internet sites extol the virtues of physical activity for children. The health benefits of physical activity on children's physical development are well known and have been the focus of research for many decades (Malina et al., 2004, Rowland,

Cognitive developmental theory and the role of physical activity

Advances in the field of developmental psychology are particularly relevant to the notion of education through the physical. Several contemporary researchers have promoted theories of cognitive development that focus on the role of physical movement in establishing fundamental mental processes throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. These theories are significant for practitioners who develop and implement physical activity interventions designed for children and adolescents.

Research approaches and empirical evidence

Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle contraction that requires energy. Exercise is a subset of physical activity consisting of planned, structured, repetitive bodily movements with the purpose of improving or maintaining physical fitness or health (Dishman et al., 2006). Further, exercise can be manipulated in terms of mode, intensity, frequency and duration. Commonly, exercise interventions are categorized as acute or chronic (Audiffren, 2009). Acute exercise

Explanatory mechanisms

Physical activity has been of particular interest because of its robust effects on brain activation and regulation. Much has been made of exercise-induced changes in new cell development (neurogenesis), cellular morphology (synaptogenesis), brain capillary growth (angiogenesis), and metabolic factors (neurotrophins) (Churchill et al., 2002, Vaynman and Gomez-Pinilla, 2006). Children may benefit more from exercise than older adults whose brain structures are in a state of dedifferentiation (

Conclusions

Research investigating the exercise–cognition relation has escalated rapidly over the past decade. Concomitantly, policy makers have begun to focus on physical activity as an intervention that can favorably impact individuals at both ends of the life-span continuum. The world-wide increase in longer lived individuals has piqued intense interest in methods that can offset normal age-related changes in mental function, as well as the development of interventions for individuals with specific

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

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