Active travel and improved learning at school
Dr Adrian Davis shares his views on the impact of physical activity on children’s educational attainment:
The evidence is growing that active children do better academically, and walking or cycling to school is the ideal way for them to be active
It has been thought since ancient times that a healthy body makes a healthy mind and that an active lifestyle supports learning. More recently, evidence has begun to appear showing that an active lifestyle, in addition to combating the onset of conditions such as obesity and heart disease, can also contribute to improved cognition.
In 2003, an analysis of literature found that time spent participating in physical activity is likely to benefit academic achievement(1). This was followed by a study in Texas, in 2010, which looked at academic and fitness test records for over 250,000 students. Their academic performance was related to cardiovascular fitness, independent of other socio-demographic and fitness variables. It showed a dose-response association – the more active they were, the better the students performed. The researchers concluded that fitness was strongly and significantly related to academic performance(2).
Newly published is a robust review of 14 studies(3). The authors found strong evidence that in young people as physical activity increases academic performance improves. They recommend more high-quality studies on the dose response relationship between physical activity and academic performance and to understand the mechanisms of how physical activity impacts on academic performance.
The four Chief Medical Officers of the UK recommend that children should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day(4). Curriculum time pressures make it difficult to fit this into the school day, but of course the journey to or from school is an ideal opportunity. This growing body of evidence strongly suggests that more should be done to promote walking and cycling to school. Government policy should become much more explicit and directive in calling for active travel, the academic performance evidence backing up the existing strong pressures from the health sector.
Sustrans’ Free Range Kids campaign is putting pressure on local and national governments across the UK to create communities where children can travel more safely and independently, and play outdoors. The campaign calls for 20mph speed limits in residential areas and investment in walking and cycling routes, particularly to school – two important ways of making it possible for children to walk and cycle to school.
Dr Adrian Davis is an independent public health consultant. Summaries of Adrian’s essential evidence on the benefits of walking and cycling can be found on the Bristol City Council website.
References
(1)Sibley and Etnier, 2003 The relationship between physical activity and cognition in children: A meta-analysis, Pediatric Exercise Science, 15
(2)Van Dusen et al, 2011 Associations of physical fitness and academic performance among schoolchildren. J Sch Health. 81
(3) Singh et al, 2012 Physical Activity and Performance at School A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment, Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med;166(1)
(4) Department of Health, 2011 Start Active, Stay Active: A report on physical activity for health from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers