Physical Activity Patterns and Academic Performance of College Students

Background/Purpose: Lack of physical activity is a contributor to the obesity epidemic and it is further speculated as a contributor to reduced academic performance; however, this link has yet to be specifically examined within college populations. Additionally, the trends in physical activity among younger adults remain under-represented in the research literature. Given the large number of students enrolled in universities and colleges across the United States, an understanding of the relationship between physical activity and academic performance is of great interest. This area of research is particularly relevant given that prior studies have shown that college students on average do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity for an adult and 60% of college students are unaware that adults should exercise five days a week for 30 minutes at moderate intensities (McArthur & Raedeke, 2009). The purpose of this study was to determine the physical activity patterns among a group of undergraduate college students and examine these patterns in relation to their academic performance as assessed through grade point average (GPA).

Method: The participants for this study included 740 students (age:  21.2±4.7 years, female n = 317, male n = 423) at multiple universities. Participants completed the Leisure and Physical Activity Questionnaire (Judge et al., 2012).

Analysis/Results: Descriptive statistics and correlation were used to examine the relationship between five leisure and physical activities (i.e., typing/schoolwork on computer, web surfing/entertainment, weightlifting, video gaming, and aerobic exercise) and four independent factors (i.e., age, gender, year in school, and GPA). Pearson's χ2 analysis revealed differences in grade point average by aerobic activity (χ2 =  44.29, p ≤ 0.001) as well as a trend towards differences in grade point average by weightlifting activity (χ2 = 22.69, p = 0.61). Further analysis revealed differences in total web entertainment by total aerobic exercise (χ2 = 32.34, p = 0.0398) as well as differences in total video gaming by total aerobic exercise (χ2 = 48.54, p < 0.001). Significant differences for geographic region (Midwestern vs. Southern) were noted for video gaming (χ2 = 11.25, p = 0.0239).

Conclusions: It can be suggested that institutions of higher education encourage aerobic exercise among students not only for overall health and wellness, but also based upon the relationship of higher academic achievement to higher physical activity levels revealed by the present investigation. Based upon these findings it can be suggested that college students engage in greater aerobic exercise.