Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Executive Function Between the Fall and Spring of Prekindergarten

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - School Readiness/Childcare

Abstract

The pre-kindergarten years are a crucial time for motor, cognitive, and academic skill development. It is during this time when the brain is primed for motor related learning and the development of academic skills, such as executive function (EF) can be tied to movement, play, and physical activity (PA). Although evidence suggests that children who are physically active and physically fit have better EF (Becker et al., 2014; Stroth et al., 2009), little work has explored direct and moderated connections among varying levels of PA and physical fitness within early care settings. In the present study, we investigate 1) if different levels of PA (sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous) assessed during fall of the pre-kindergarten year predict fall and spring EF; 2) if a child’s level of physical fitness predicts EF in the fall and spring; and 3) if the relationship between EF with PA varies at different levels of fitness.

The sample included 83 American preschool children (45% boys) aged 35.86 to 62.20 months (M = 51.85, SD = 6.64), with a mean maternal education of 15.58 years (SD = 2.80). In fall and spring of pre-kindergarten, physical fitness was measured with the twenty-meter shuttle run (Leger et al., 1988), and EF was measured using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS; McClelland et al., 2014), and the Day-Night Stroop (DN; Gerstadt, Hong, & Diamond, 1994). Sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous PA were assessed over three days in fall of the pre-kindergarten year using ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers (Pate et al., 2006).

In fall of pre-kindergarten, results showed a significant positive relationship between vigorous PA with the HTKS, with the connection between EF and PA also varying at different levels of fitness (see Table 1). Results of the interactions suggests that as low fit children spend more time in moderate (HTKS) and vigorous (DN) PA their EF scores increase.

For change in EF between the fall and spring, change in fitness predicted positive change in the HTKS, with the relationship between sedentary activity and change in the HTKS varying at different levels of fall fitness. Contrary to EF at time one, the relationship between sedentary activity and EF was stronger for children who were more physically fit in the fall, with high fit children who spent more time in sedentary activity showing more change in HTKS scores (see Figure 1). Neither fitness or PA was related to change in DN scores.

Results show both direct and indirect connections among EF with PA and early fitness. In fall of the pre-kindergarten year, outside of fitness, children who spent more time in vigorous PA had higher HTKS scores. For less fit children in the fall, higher levels of fall PA related to higher fall EF scores (HTKS, DN), but high fit children who spent more time in sedentary PA showed more change in fall to spring EF. Further, fall to spring change in fitness predicted change in HTKS scores. Together, results aid in understanding how both high and low levels of PA relate to EF.

Author

• Derek Raymond Becker, Western Carolina University
  Presenting Author