Middle School Fitness and Changes in Academic Achievement
Did you know that improving middle school fitness in your students may help with academics? Research indicates an association between fitness in middle school students and academic achievement.
What Does the Research Say on Middle School Fitness?
Pediatric Exercise Science published research examining the changes in 52 adolescents (6th – 8th grade) in aerobic fitness and academic achievement in reading and mathematics during middle school. Each student completed PACER tests measuring aerobic fitness and ISAT academic achievement tests in reading and mathematics.
The results indicated the following:
- changes in aerobic fitness between sixth and eighth grade were positively related to changes in academic achievement in both reading and mathematics between sixth and eighth grade.
The researchers concluded that changes in aerobic fitness may modulate changes in academic achievement.
Reference: Raine, L. B., Biggan, J. R., Baym, C. L., Saliba, B. J., Cohen, N. J., & Hillman, C. H. (2017). Adolescent Changes in Aerobic Fitness are Related to Changes in Academic Achievement. Pediatric Exercise Science, 1-21.
Research was also published on 838 middle school students who were assessed with the FITNESSGRAM and the Illinois Standardized Assessment Tests. The results indicated the following:
- Boys in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for aerobic fitness or muscular endurance were 2.5 to 3 times more likely to pass their math or reading exams.
- Girls in the HFZ for aerobic fitness were approximately 2 to 4 times as likely to meet or exceed reading and math test standards.
The researchers concluded that middle school aerobic fitness and muscular endurance positively affect academic performance.
Reference: Bass RW et al. Physical fitness and academic performance in middle-school students. Acta Paediatr. 2013 Apr 28. doi: 10.1111/apa.12278.
Yoga and Middle School Students
Not only does middle school fitness possibly help academics, yoga may help as well! The Journal of Child and Family Studies published research on mindful yoga to foster self-regulation, academic performance and health promotion in 72 sixth graders. Students participated in mindful yoga integrated into 6th grade English Language Arts and 70 students were part of the control group. Data on self-regulation was collected using the Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory.
The results indicated that the students who participated in mindful yoga demonstrated significant increases in both global and long-term self-regulation compared to the control group of students. There were no significant changes in short-term self-regulation.
Bergen-Cico, D. et al. Fostering Self-Regulation Through Curriculum Infusion of Mindful Yoga: A Pilot Study of Efficacy and Feasibility. Journal of Child and Family Studies. November 2015, Volume 24, Issue 11, pp 3448-3461
Resources to Help with Aerobic Fitness
Research tells us that short aerobic exercise sessions can help children with: cognitive flexibility, self-regulation, behavior, and academic achievement! This Cardio Aerobic Exercises for Small Spaces digital download packet includes 15 aerobic exercise sheets including QR codes with links to animated video demonstration of each exercise.
