PLoS One. 2016 Dec 1;11(12):e0165741. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165741. eCollection 2016.
- 1Clinical Neuropsychology Section, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- 2Dept. of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract
AIM:
Research suggested a positive association between physical fitness and neurocognitive functioning in children.
Aim of the present study is to investigate possible dose-response
relationships between diverse daily physical activities and a broad
range of neurocognitive functions in preadolescent children. Furthermore, the relationship between several sedentary behaviours, including TV-watching, gaming and computer time, and neurocognitive functioning will be investigated in this group of children.
METHODS:
A
total of 168 preadolescent boys, aged 8 to 12 years, were recruited
from various locations, including primary schools, an amateur soccer
club, and a professional soccer club, to increase variability in the
amount of participation in sports. All children
performed neurocognitive tasks measuring inhibition, short term memory,
working memory, attention and information processing speed. Regression
analyses examined the predictive power of a broad range of physical
activities, including sports, active transport to school, physical
education (PE), outdoor play, and sedentary behaviour such as
TV-watching and gaming, for neurocognitive functioning.
RESULTS:
Time
spent in sports significantly accounted for the variance in inhibition,
short term memory, working memory and lapses of attention, where more
time spent in sports was associated with better performance. Outdoor
play was also positively associated with working memory. In contrast,
time spent on the computer was negatively associated with inhibition.
CONCLUSIONS:
Results
of the current study suggest a positive relationship between
participation in sports and several important neurocognitive functions.
Interventions are recommended to increase sports participation and to
reduce sedentary behaviour in preadolescent children.
- [PubMed - in process]
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