The Associations between Physical Fitness, Complex vs Simple Movement, and Academic Achievement in a Cohort of Fourth Graders

This study analyzed the correlation between elementary school students’ body composition, physical activity, physical fitness, movement ability, and academic achievement. Movements ranged from simple actions to complex movements requiring executive functioning. In total, 110 fourth graders (60 boys, 50 girls) participated in this experiment. Body composition (BMI, % of body fat), physical activity (pedometer), physical fitness (muscular strength, endurance, power, flexibility, and VO(2)max), and complex movement abilities (Illinois Agility test, soda pop hand test, and soda pop foot test) were measured. Regression modeling of body composition and fitness/activity variables was able to account for 30.5% of the variation of total academic scores in females, but only 4.3% in males. No individual tests were reliably correlated with multiple academic outcomes in males. However, hand and foot soda pop times, as well as Illinois Agility scores, were repeatedly correlated with academic outcomes in females, each correlating with 4 of the 6 academic scores. Body composition and physical activity level did not correlate with academic achievement, and simple physical fitness showed a low correlation with academic achievement in both boys and girls. On the other hand, complex, cognitively demanding movements such as the Illinois Agility, soda pop hand, and soda pop foot tests had consistent correlations with academic achievement in girls, but not in boys.