1. Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Children Greg Welk, Ph.D. Professor – Iowa State University Scientific Director of FITNESSGRAM

2. Outline and Overview History and Progression of Research – Fitness and Academic Achievement: Findings based on FITNESSGRAM Outcomes Additional Evidence and Causal Mechanisms Prominent Reports and Recommendations Strategies for School Wellness Integration

3. Pioneering Studies Early studies in the 80s and 90s focused on whether extra time spend in PE detracted from academic achievement Formative Studies Studies in the 90s and early 2000s started to demonstrate benefits of physical activity on academic achievement Confirming Studies Studies in the late 2000s and on have confirmed findings and provided causal evidence

4. FITNESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Early Findings from FITNESSGRAM Research

5. History of FITNESSGRAM  Launched in 1982 to support transition to health related fitness  Facilitated individualized reporting and feedback

6. Fitnessgram Scientific Advisory Board

7. Defining Feature of F ITNESSGRAM  Personalized FITNESSGRAM reports for Parents and Children Advantages: Education tool to enhance instruction Improved communication to parents

8. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM THE TEXAS YOUTH FITNESS STUDY

9. Background on Texas Youth Fitness Study  As part of SB 530 requirements, schools in Texas were required to complete fitness testing using the FITNESSGRAM test battery and to report data to the state

10. FITNESSGRAM Achievement % Achieving Cardiovascular Fitness Standard by Level (Texas Youth Fitness Study)

11. Texas Youth Fitness Study Papers in Supplement  Cooper KH. “Reflections on the Texas Youth Evaluation Project and Implications for the Future.” S79–S83.  Cooper KH, Everett D, Meredith MD, Kloster J, Rathbone M, & Read K. “Texas Statewide Assessment of Youth Fitness.” Sii–Siv.  Corbin CB. “Texas Youth Fitness Study: A Commentary.” S75–S78.  Greenleaf CA, Petrie TA, & Martin SB. “Psychological Variables as Predictors of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Body Composition of Middle School Students.” S65–S74.  Martin SB, Ede, A, Morrow, JR, Jr, & Jackson, AW. “Statewide Physical Fitness Testing: Perspectives from the Gym.” S31–S41.  Morrow JR, Jr, Martin, SB, & Jackson, AW. “Reliability and Validity of the FITNESSGRAM®: Quality of Teacher Collected Health-related Fitness Surveillance Data.” S24–S30.  Morrow JR, Jr, Martin, SB, Welk, GJ, Zhu, W, & Meredith, MD. “Overview of the Texas Youth Fitness Study.”S1– S5.  Welk GJ, Jackson AW, Morrow JR, Jr, Haskell WH, Meredith MD, & Cooper KH. “The Association of Health- Related Fitness With Indicators of Academic Performance in Texas Schools.” S16–S23.  Welk GJ, Meredith MD, Ihmels M, & Seeger C. “Distribution of Health-Related Fitness in Texas Youth: A Demographic and Geographic Analysis.” S6–S15.  Zhu W, Boiarskaia EA, Welk GJ, & Meredith, MD. “Physical Education and School Contextual Factors Relating to Students’ Achievement and Cross-Grade Differences in Aerobic Fitness and Obesity.” S53–S64.  Zhu W, Welk GJ, Meredith MD, & Boiarskaia EA. “A Survey of Physical Education Programs and Policies in Texas Schools.” S42–S52. 

12.  Consistent associations were found between fitness and various indicators Positive association between fitness and academic achievement Positive associations between fitness and attendance Negative associations between fitness and school delinquency  Associations controlled for other social and demographic factors that influence academic outcomes Texas Youth Fitness Study: Academic Achievement Study

13. Associations between Fitness and Academic Performance (TAKS)  Achievement in FITNESSGRAM is positively associated with academic achievement  Associations are higher for CV than for BMI. Spearman correlations between % achieving HFZ and % achieving TAKS standards adjusted for SES, minority%, and school size

14. Associations between Fitness and School Attendance Rates  Achievement in FITNESSGRAM is positively associated with school attendance  Associations are higher for CV than for BMI Spearman correlations between % achieving HFZ and % attendance (PEIMS data) adjusted for SES, minority%, and school size

15. Associations between Fitness and Negative School Incidents  Achievement in FITNESSGRAM is negatively associated with school delinquency  Associations are higher for CV than for BMI Spearman correlations between % achieving HFZ and % of negative “incidents” adjusted for SES, minority%, and school size. Note: Incidents reflects rate of school reports involving weapons, alcohol, drugs or truancy.

16. Distribution of BMI Achievement by County Counties were divided into tertiles based on BMI achievement Green = lower BMI Red = higher BMI

17. Distribution of BMI Achievement AND TAKS Achievement by County Counties with low or high levels of achievement in BMI also tended to corresponding low or high levels of achievement on TAKS. Causality can’t be assumed but spatial associations are apparent.  spa

18. Summary of Findings  The results provide strong evidence to support the importance of physical activity and physical fitness for academic achievement Study was the first to examine patterns across a whole state using aggregated school level indicators that most directly relate to school outcomes Findings are particularly noteworthy since statistical adjustments were made for SES, minority%, and school size which were often not controlled for in past studies.

19. Other Studies Based on Fitnessgram Outcomes

20. Participants: 259 elementary students (Illinois) – ~78% Caucasian, 12% African American, 5% Asian – 3 rd -5 th grade Measures – Fitnessgram battery – Illinois Standards Achievement Test (math/reading) Results: – Aerobic fitness was positively related to achievement – BMI was negatively related to achievement

21. Chomitz et al., 2009

25. ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE AND EXPLORATION OF MECHANISMS

26. Method: – Study evaluated on-task behavior following a six-week intervention at one public school Participants: 62 third-grade (N = 37) and fourth-grade students (N = 25) Design: Pre-Post Design Intervention: – Energizers classroom-based activity program Measures: – On-task behavior was assessed with observations from two researchers

27. Results

28. Sample: N = 171 sedentary overweight 7-to 11-year-old children Intervention: 13 weeks of aerobic exercise program (20 or 40 min) after school or a no exercise control condition (no after school program) Measures: – Executive function (Cognitive Assessment System) – Academic achievement (Reading & Math of Woodcock- Johnson Test of Achievement)

29. Changes in Brain Activation Following Exercise Intervention

30. Adjusted for sex, parent education, baseline score, and race. This is showing the dose response effects of the aerobic exercise program Associations between Executive Function in Brain and Academic Achievement

32. Procedure – Children did two separate cognitive testing sessions while wearing ECG caps to monitor brain activity 20 min moderate intensity treadmill walking (60-70% max HR) Quite rest while seated in a chair on the same treadmill Results – Higher-performers, following exercise, maintained accuracy and had no change in P3 amplitude compared to seated rest – Lower performers had improved accuracy and an increase in P3 amplitude following exercise – Children with lower inhibitory control capacity may benefit the most from a single bout of exercise

34. Further Images from Chuck Hillmans’s Group Research/scan compliments of Dr. Chuck Hillman University of Illinois: Hillman, C.H., et al. (2009) The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent children. Neuroscience. 159(3):1044-54.)

35. Dissemination of Findings on Exercise and Brain Activation

37. PROMINENT REPORTS AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

38. CDC Summary Report Provided separate summaries of research in 4 different school contexts: – Physical education – Recess – Classroom – Extracurricular

39. CDC Review: Impact of PE Summarized 14 studies on impact of Physical Education 11 of the 14 studies found one or more positive associations between school-based physical education and indicators of academic performance;

40. CDC Review: Impact of Recess Summarized 16 studies – 8 observation studies – 6 intervention studies – 2 outcome studies All 8 observational studies found one or more positive associations between recess and indicators of cognitive skills, attitudes, and academic behavior; none of the studies found negative associations.

41. CDC Review: Impact of Classroom Summarized 9 studies on impact of short activity breaks in classrooms 8 of the 9 studies found positive associations between classroom-based physical activity and indicators of cognitive skills and attitudes, academic behavior, and academic achievement. None of the studies found negative associations.

42. CDC Review: Impact of Extracurricular PA Summarized 19 studies examined impact of extracurricular activities. All 19 studies examining the relationships between participation in extracurricular physical activities and academic performance found one or more positive associations.

43. CDC Review: Conclusions “There is substantial evidence that physical activity can help improve academic achievement, including grades and standardized test scores” “….physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes and academic behavior, all of which are important components of improved academic performance”

44. New Updates by ‘Active Living Research’ (Search Active Education)

45. CDC Manual Described concepts and guidelines for “Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming” (aka CSPAP)

46. CDC CSPAP Guide

47. CDC CSPAP Model

48. IOM Report Report brought attention to importance of physical activity for education Described methods and models for integration

49. Key Concepts in the IOM Report

51. Designed to Move Provides links and evidence to support benefits of physical activity www.designedtomove.org

52. The Negative Spiral from Inactivity

53. The Positive Spiral from Activity

54. Summary The evidence is now clear! Physical activity clearly contributes to academic achievement (AND good health) Promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles requires a “total school approach”

55. Thanks for your Attention Greg Welk – gwelk@iastate.edu