Ocampo Plazas ML1, David Bermudez DC2
1National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia, 2National University of Colombia, Human Movement Department, Bogotá, Colombia
Background: Physical exercise (PE) does not only foster the biologic development of children, but is also a significant part of their environment exploration processes, with learning benefits. This study analyzes the role of PE on the executive functions (EF) of schoolchildren from Latin American, Colombian context.
Purpose: To evaluate the impact of an PE program on the attention and memory of schoolchildren between 7 and 9 years.
Methods: Experimental study involving 52 schoolchildren from an school in Bogotá (Colombia). Randomization was performed and each group [Control (CG) and experimental (EG)] had 27 participants. EG performed a PE program during 6 weeks. We used Accelerometer ActiGraph GT3X to establish the initial level of physical activity, the d2 test to evaluate memory and McCarthy test for attention. We measured at the beginning and at the end in CG and EG.
Results: The information was processed using the Mann Whitney U (MWU) statistic for the comparison between groups and Wilcoxon for the analysis of pre and post results of each group.
According to MWU, we found at the begining that both CG and EG obtain similar results in attention (significance 0.57) and in memory (significance 0.42). After the intervention, we observed that there were no statistically significant differences in attention (0.14), neither in memory (0.63). However, there were changes in the EG scores, compared to CG, given that both the range average and the sum of the ranks, it gives higher scores in EG [Average ranges (29.74) and sum of ranks (743.50)], with respect to CG [Average ranges (23.50) and sum of ranks (634.509), indicating changes in favor of the EG.
Analyzing the comparison between before and after measurements, using Wilcoxon statistic, we found significant differences in both groups with a confidence level of 99.9%. The CG presented in attention a significance (0.001), and in memory (0.026). In the EG the significance in attention was (0.006), and in memory (0.008).
Although in both groups the results were significant when we analyzed the qualitative results of the pre and post tests in each group, we found that more people in EG improve their atention results after the intervention. In memory, both CG and EG most of the participants remained in middle level.
Conclusion(s): We found, statistically significant towards improvement in both CG and EG, although they are slightly better in EG. The changes are more evident in attention than in memory. This is related to the attention development whose higher levels of development occur at higher ages. We believe that the result may be related to the time in which we applied the program, more studies are required to evaluate the impact with longer times.
Implications: Physical Therapists (PT) may develop exercise-based strategies to promote the development of EF on schoolchildren, which certainly have an impact in children learning processes. Therefore, actions towards the PE promotion become a tool for PT interaction with healthy children.
Keywords: Physical exercise, Executive Functions, School children
Funding acknowledgements: This investigation did not receive funding
Purpose: To evaluate the impact of an PE program on the attention and memory of schoolchildren between 7 and 9 years.
Methods: Experimental study involving 52 schoolchildren from an school in Bogotá (Colombia). Randomization was performed and each group [Control (CG) and experimental (EG)] had 27 participants. EG performed a PE program during 6 weeks. We used Accelerometer ActiGraph GT3X to establish the initial level of physical activity, the d2 test to evaluate memory and McCarthy test for attention. We measured at the beginning and at the end in CG and EG.
Results: The information was processed using the Mann Whitney U (MWU) statistic for the comparison between groups and Wilcoxon for the analysis of pre and post results of each group.
According to MWU, we found at the begining that both CG and EG obtain similar results in attention (significance 0.57) and in memory (significance 0.42). After the intervention, we observed that there were no statistically significant differences in attention (0.14), neither in memory (0.63). However, there were changes in the EG scores, compared to CG, given that both the range average and the sum of the ranks, it gives higher scores in EG [Average ranges (29.74) and sum of ranks (743.50)], with respect to CG [Average ranges (23.50) and sum of ranks (634.509), indicating changes in favor of the EG.
Analyzing the comparison between before and after measurements, using Wilcoxon statistic, we found significant differences in both groups with a confidence level of 99.9%. The CG presented in attention a significance (0.001), and in memory (0.026). In the EG the significance in attention was (0.006), and in memory (0.008).
Although in both groups the results were significant when we analyzed the qualitative results of the pre and post tests in each group, we found that more people in EG improve their atention results after the intervention. In memory, both CG and EG most of the participants remained in middle level.
Conclusion(s): We found, statistically significant towards improvement in both CG and EG, although they are slightly better in EG. The changes are more evident in attention than in memory. This is related to the attention development whose higher levels of development occur at higher ages. We believe that the result may be related to the time in which we applied the program, more studies are required to evaluate the impact with longer times.
Implications: Physical Therapists (PT) may develop exercise-based strategies to promote the development of EF on schoolchildren, which certainly have an impact in children learning processes. Therefore, actions towards the PE promotion become a tool for PT interaction with healthy children.
Keywords: Physical exercise, Executive Functions, School children
Funding acknowledgements: This investigation did not receive funding
Topic: Paediatrics; Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing; Mental health
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: National University of Colombia
Ethics committee: School of medicine ethics committee
Ethics number: Certificate number 017-215-16 (September 22nd, 2016).
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
