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High-intensity exercise twice weekly improves academic scores in fourth graders
Clinical Question
Can regular school-based high-intensity exercise improve academic performance in school-aged children?
Bottom line
In this study, children who did HIIT for 10 weeks showed increased achievement scores as compared with children who continued their usual physical education classes. If you are involved in your community, show this study to your elementary school principal and suggest adding HIIT to the gym classes. 1b
Reference
Study design: Non-randomized controlled trial
Funding: Foundation
Setting: Population-based
Synopsis
This study was conducted in 10 urban and mixed residential elementary schools in Mongolia. The 2301 students were randomized to receive high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or the usual 45-minute physical education class. Randomization was by school, stratified to balance socioeconomic status and lifestyle between the 2 groups. Synchronized to music, the HIIT comprised jumps, squats, and various steps for 3 minutes, followed by a rest period, repeated several times, twice weekly for 10 weeks for 10 to 25 minutes per session. The exercise was introduced gradually to allow participants to develop stamina. Compared with the scores on a standardized mathematics and language tests before the start of this study, the scores of the students in the HIIT group increased on both tests, in both urban and mixed residential schools, an average of approximately 2% to 8% as compared with the control group over the 10 weeks. Interestingly, obesity and body mass index were slightly higher in students in the HIIT group, which is not consistent with other studies.
Reviewer
Allen F. Shaughnessy, PharmD, MMedEd
Professor of Family Medicine
Tufts University
Boston, MA
Comments
Exercise and Academics
2% increase in Mongolia - Really? Relevant??
missing link
The link in the email sent to me was to the study protocol, not to the RCT itself.