Physical Education and Physical Activity: Its Relationship With Academic Performance

Background/Purpose Childhood obesity is one of the more serious health issues facing the United States. School Physical Education programs are an effective preventative intervention in terms of helping students acquire the skills and habits needed for a physically active lifestyle. Over the last decade, Physical Education minutes per week and physical activity (PA) have been reduced in favor of academic subjects. A body of knowledge is emerging around the association between time in Physical Education/PA and academic achievement in classroom subjects (as well as classroom behavior).

Method Using various research designs, researchers in various educational systems (e.g., Canada, France, Australia, Hong Kong, and United Kingdom) have conduct 50 studies on the relationship between Physical Education/PA and academic achievement across various subject matters.

Analysis/Results Researchers have found a) positive correlations between time in Physical Education/PA and academic achievement; b) maintaining or increasing time for Physical Education does adversely impact academic achievement; c) decreasing/eliminating the time Physical Education/PA in favor of academic subjects does not automatically translate into improved academic performance; d) increasing time for Physical Education may make small positive contributions to academic achievement (especially for girls); e) PA is beneficial to general cognitive functioning and helps students concentrate, and improves classroom behavior.

Conclusions Policy makers can no longer ignore the evidence about the central role of Physical Education/PA physical activity and its connection with academic performance, as well as the serious negative health consequences of further reducing Physical Education and other PA opportunities.