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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Publication Detail

Title: The effects of changes in physical fitness on academic performance among New York City youth.

Authors: Bezold, Carla P; Konty, Kevin J; Day, Sophia E; Berger, Magdalena; Harr, Lindsey; Larkin, Michael; Napier, Melanie D; Nonas, Cathy; Saha, Subir; Harris, Tiffany G; Stark, James H

Published In J Adolesc Health, (2014 Dec)

Abstract: To evaluate whether a change in fitness is associated with academic outcomes in New York City (NYC) middle-school students using longitudinal data and to evaluate whether this relationship is modified by student household poverty.This was a longitudinal study of 83,111 New York City middle-school students enrolled between 2006-2007 and 2011-2012. Fitness was measured as a composite percentile based on three fitness tests and categorized based on change from the previous year. The effect of the fitness change level on academic outcomes, measured as a composite percentile based on state standardized mathematics and English Language Arts test scores, was estimated using a multilevel growth model. Models were stratified by sex, and additional models were tested stratified by student household poverty.For both girls and boys, a substantial increase in fitness from the previous year resulted in a greater improvement in academic ranking than was seen in the reference group (girls: .36 greater percentile point improvement, 95% confidence interval: .09-.63; boys: .38 greater percentile point improvement, 95% confidence interval: .09-.66). A substantial decrease in fitness was associated with a decrease in academics in both boys and girls. Effects of fitness on academics were stronger in high-poverty boys and girls than in low-poverty boys and girls.Academic rankings improved for boys and girls who increased their fitness level by >20 percentile points compared to other students. Opportunities for increased physical fitness may be important to support academic performance.

PubMed ID: 25088395 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Achievement*; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Educational Measurement/methods; Educational Measurement/statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; New York City; Physical Fitness*; Poverty/statistics & numerical data; Sex Distribution; Students/statistics & numerical data*

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