1. Prospective associations between physical fitness and executive function in adolescents: The UP&DOWN study
- Author
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Adrià Muntaner-Mas, Jose Mora-Gonzalez, Verónica Cabanas-Sánchez, Laura Berninches Pintado, Jo Salmon, Charles H. Hillman, Jose Castro-Piñero, José C. Perales, Oscar L. Veiga, Irene Esteban-Cornejo, [Muntaner-Mas, Adria] Univ Balearic Isl, Fac Educ, GICAFE Phys Act & Exercise Sci Res Grp, Balearic Islands, Spain, [Muntaner-Mas, Adria] Univ Granada, Sport & Hlth Univ Res Inst iMUDS, Fac Sport Sci, Dept Phys Educ & Sports,PROFITH PROmoting FITness, Granada 18071, Spain, [Mora-Gonzalez, Jose] Univ Granada, Sport & Hlth Univ Res Inst iMUDS, Fac Sport Sci, Dept Phys Educ & Sports,PROFITH PROmoting FITness, Granada 18071, Spain, [Esteban-Cornejo, Irene] Univ Granada, Sport & Hlth Univ Res Inst iMUDS, Fac Sport Sci, Dept Phys Educ & Sports,PROFITH PROmoting FITness, Granada 18071, Spain, [Mora-Gonzalez, Jose] Univ N Carolina, Coll Hlth & Human Serv, Charlotte, NC USA, [Cabanas-Sanchez, Veronica] UAM, IMDEA Food Inst, CSIC, CEI, Madrid, Spain, [Berninches Pintado, Laura] Autonomous Univ Madrid, Dept Prevent Med Publ Hlth & Microbiol, Madrid, Spain, [Salmon, Jo] Deakin Univ, Sch Exercise & Nutr Sci, Inst Phys Act & Nutr, Geelong, Vic, Australia, [Hillman, Charles H.] Northeastern Univ, Dept Psychol, Dept Phys Therapy Movement & Rehabil Sci, Boston, MA USA, [Esteban-Cornejo, Irene] Northeastern Univ, Dept Psychol, Dept Phys Therapy Movement & Rehabil Sci, Boston, MA USA, [Castro-Pinero, Jose] Univ Cadiz, Fac Educ Sci, Dept Phys Educ, Puerto Real, Spain, [Castro-Pinero, Jose] Biomed Res & Innovat Inst Cadiz INiBICA, Cadiz, Spain, [Perales, Jose C.] Univ Granada, Mind Brain & Behav Res Ctr CIMCYC, Dept Expt Psychol, Granada, Spain, [Veiga, Oscar L.] Autonomous Univ Madrid, Dept Phys Educ Sport & Human Movement, EstiLIFE Lifestyles Phys Act & Eating Behav Res G, Madrid, Spain, National Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (R + D + i) MICINN, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Leadership 2 Investigator Grant, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and UAM. Departamento de Educación Física, Deporte y Motricidad Humana
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Youth ,Educación ,Working memory ,Brain ,Brain function ,Academic-achievement ,Motor activity ,Education ,Cognition ,Memory ,Cortex ,Maturity ,Inhibitory control ,Cognitive performance ,Exercise ,Children ,Childhood aerobic fitness ,Applied Psychology - Abstract
Introduction: The objective of the present work is to investigate the prospective associations between physical fitness components (cardiorespiratory fitness, motor fitness, and muscular strength) and two domains of executive function (working memory and inhibitory control) in adolescents. Methods: A total of 422 Spanish adolescents (13.35 ± 1.54 years, at baseline) from the UP&DOWN study with assessments at baseline and at 2-year follow-up were included in the analysis. Physical fitness was assessed using the ALPHA Fitness Test Battery. Working memory was measured by the n-back task and inhibitory control by the go/no-go task. Relationships of physical fitness components with working memory and inhibitory control were examined using linear regression models, adjusted for confounders. Results: Higher baseline levels of the three physical fitness components (cardiorespiratory fitness, motor fitness, and muscular strength) individually predicted better performance on the working memory (βranged, from .159 to .207; all p < .012) and inhibitory control (βranged, from 0.168 to 0.263; all p < .004) tasks at the 2-year follow-up. Muscular strength was the only component associated with inhibitory control independent of the other 2 physical fitness components (β = 0.266; p = .005). Conclusions: All components of adolescents’ physical fitness at baseline were individually associated with better working memory and inhibitory control at 2-year follow-up. Specifically, our results revealed that muscular strength was the component showing the strongest association with executive function, and even the only fitness component associated with inhibitory control independent of the other fitness components. These findings may have important public health and educational implication, since promoting exercise programs that improve physical fitness, and particularly, muscular strength, may positively influence cognitive health., Spanish Government DEP 2010-21662-C04-00 CAS19/00265 RYC2019-027287-I, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia APP 1176885 Spanish Government IJC2018-038008-I
- Published
- 2022
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