Associations between physical fitness, objectively measured physical activity and academic performance

Đurić, Saša (author), Bogataj, Špela (author), Zovko, Vinko (author), Sember, Vedrana (author)

There is evidence that physical activity (PA) can improve the academic performance. We recruited healthy adolescent girls, aged 11–12 years, and measured their PA with the accelerometer ActiGraph GT3X for the consecutive 5 days. Physical fitness (PF) was measured with eight motoric tests and three anthropometry measures. Academic performance (AP) was assessed for the six academic narrated school subjects. The results revealed that the girls were more physically active during the week days and less active at weekend (557 vs. 516 counts/min). Physical education grade shows the highest overall correlations with the results of the PF test battery (r = 0.53–0.95, p < 0.01). Nevertheless, correlations surprisingly decrease for the combined daily PA (r = 0.45), especially the weekend PA (r = 0.28). Grade point average and PF correlated moderately (r = 0.43-0.64), while they were moderate to high for PA (r = 0.59–0.87). Many questions arose after the completion of the present study and several new topics opened up, such as the question of how parental education affects the duration of PA and AP of the children and the influence of the place of residence AP of the children.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, physical activity, academic performance, girls, physical fitness, mathematic grade, grade point average
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport; EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 7 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, art. 778837
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-134694
• UDC: 37+796
• ISSN on article: 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.778837
• COBISS.SI-ID: 85442051
• Publication date in RUL: 26.01.2022

ĐURIĆ, Saša, BOGATAJ, Špela, ZOVKO, Vinko and SEMBER, Vedrana, 2021, Associations between physical fitness, objectively measured physical activity and academic performance. Frontiers in public health [online]. 2021. Vol. 9, no. 778837. [Accessed 26 June 2025]. DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2021.778837. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=134694

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Frontiers in public health
• Shortened title: Front. public health
• Publisher: Frontiers Media S. A.
• ISSN: 2296-2565
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523096857

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: šport, telesna aktivnost, športna vzgoja

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0142
• Name: Bio-psiho-socialni konteksti kineziologije

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Funding programme: University Medical Centre
• Project number: TP20210071