Are active school transport and leisure-time physical activity associated with performance and wellbeing at secondary school? A population-based study

BACKGROUND: Physically active pupils may be better and more resilient learners. However, it is unclear whether walking or cycling to school yields similar educational and school-related mental health benefits as leisure-time physical activity. We examined the associations of active school transport and leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with perceived academic performance, competency in academic skills, school burnout and school enjoyment. METHODS: We included 34 103 Finnish adolescents (mean age 15.4 years; 53% girls) from the 2015 School Health Promotion study cohort. For the analyses, we used logistic regression, adjusting for major sociodemographic, environmental, lifestyle and physical activity covariates. RESULTS: Active school transport was positively associated with educational outcomes and school enjoyment, but not with school burnout. For example, compared with non-active transport, 10–30 min of daily active school transport was linked to 30% [odds ratio (OR) 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–1.40] and 17% (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.08–1.27) higher odds of high perceived academic performance and high reading competency, respectively. Leisure-time physical activity was robustly associated with all outcomes. For example, compared with the inactive, the most physically active adolescents had 86% higher odds of high perceived academic performance (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.66–2.08), 57% higher odds of high competency in mathematics (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.39–1.77) and 40% lower odds of school burnout (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.52–0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with active school transport, leisure-time physical activity was more strongly associated with educational and school-related mental health outcomes. Nevertheless, walking or cycling to school might lead to improvements in classroom performance and school enjoyment.