Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Physical Activity and Cognitive Performance in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

  • Systematic Review
  • Published:
Sports Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Growing evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) could improve cognitive performance in youths, but whether these effects occur from early childhood remains unclear.

Objective

To summarize evidence on the effects of PA interventions on cognitive performance in early childhood.

Methods

We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO (from inception to 6 September 2023) for randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of PA interventions (≥ 3 weeks) on cognitive-related outcomes in early childhood (3–6 years). We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis when five or more studies assessed a given outcome. The potential moderating role of participant (e.g., age) and intervention characteristics (e.g., duration, volume, intensity, cognitive engagement) was also assessed.

Results

We found a total of 24 studies (N = 3483 children) that were deemed to be of overall fair methodological quality. PA interventions were supervised and lasted between 3 and 24 weeks. The most common session duration was 30 min, with a frequency of two sessions per week. Pooled analyses revealed that PA interventions have positive effects on all analysed outcomes, including attention (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.79, p = 0.002), inhibition (SMD = 0.45, 95% CI 0.06–0.84, p = 0.022), working memory (SMD = 0.50, 95% CI 0.18–0.82, p = 0.002), cognitive flexibility (SMD = 0.39, 0.15–0.62, p = 0.002) and vocabulary (SMD = 1.18, 0.19–2.16, p = 0.019). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the benefits in all cases except for inhibition (p = 0.062). No consistent differences were found relating to any moderator variable.

Conclusions

Although further research is warranted, our findings suggest that PA interventions may improve cognitive performance in early childhood, particularly in the domains of attention, inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and vocabulary. These findings might support the implementation of PA interventions from early childhood.

PROSPERO Registration

CRD42021249319.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. García-Hermoso A, Ramírez-Vélez R, Garciá-Alonso Y, Alonso-Martínez AM, Izquierdo M. Association of cardiorespiratory fitness levels during youth with health risk later in life: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174:952–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Erickson KI, Hillman C, Stillman CM, Ballard RM, Bloodgood B, Conroy DE, et al. Physical activity, cognition, and brain outcomes: a review of the 2018 physical activity guidelines. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51:1242–51.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Ciria LF, Román-Caballero R, Vadillo MA, Holgado D, Luque-Casado A, Perakakis P, et al. An umbrella review of randomized control trials on the effects of physical exercise on cognition. Nat Hum Behav. 2023;7:928–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hillman CH, McDonald KM, Logan NE. A review of the effects of physical activity on cognition and brain health across children and adolescence. In: Nestle Nutr. Inst. Workshop Ser., vol. 95. 2020.

  5. Alvarez-Bueno C, Pesce C, Cavero-Redondo I, Sanchez-Lopez M, Garrido-Miguel M, Martinez-Vizcaino V. Academic achievement and physical activity: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2017;140: e20171498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Biddle SJH, Ciaccioni S, Thomas G, Vergeer I. Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: an updated review of reviews and an analysis of causality. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2019;42:146–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. de Greeff JW, Bosker RJ, Oosterlaan J, Visscher C, Hartman E. Effects of physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance in preadolescent children: a meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. 2018;21:501–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Takacs ZK, Kassai R. The efficacy of different interventions to foster children’s executive function skills: a series of meta-analyses. Psychol Bull. 2019;145:653–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Haverkamp BF, Wiersma R, Vertessen K, van Ewijk H, Oosterlaan J, Hartman E. Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive outcomes and academic performance in adolescents and young adults: a meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2020;38:2637–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Álvarez-Bueno C, Pesce C, Cavero-Redondo I, Sánchez-López M, Martínez-Hortelano JA, Martínez-Vizcaíno V. The effect of physical activity interventions on children’s cognition and metacognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017;56:729–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Xue Y, Yang Y, Huang T. Effects of chronic exercise interventions on executive function among children and adolescents: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53:1397–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Cadenas-Sánchez C, Estévez-López F, Muñoz NE, Mora-Gonzalez J, Migueles JH, et al. Role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the mental health of preschoolers, children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2019;49:1383–410.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Lenroot RK, Giedd JN. Brain development in children and adolescents: insights from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2006;30:718–29.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gogtay N, Giedd JN, Lusk L, Hayashi KM, Greenstein D, Vaituzis AC, et al. Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004;101:8174–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Vazou S, Mavilidi MF. Cognitively engaging physical activity for targeting motor, cognitive, social, and emotional skills in the preschool classroom: the move for thought preK-K program. Front Psychol. 2021;12: 729272.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Wick K, Kriemler S, Granacher U. Effects of a strength-dominated exercise program on physical fitness and cognitive performance in preschool children. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35:983–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Mavilidi MF, Pesce C, Mazzoli E, Bennett S, Paas F, Okely AD, et al. Effects of cognitively engaging physical activity on preschool children’s cognitive outcomes. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2022;00:1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Gable S, Fozi AM, Moore AM. A physically-active approach to early number learning. Early Child Educ J. 2021;49:515–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Carson V, Hunter S, Kuzik N, Wiebe SA, Spence JC, Friedman A, et al. Systematic review of physical activity and cognitive development in early childhood. J Sci Med Sport. 2016;19:573–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Jylänki P, Mbay T, Hakkarainen A, Sääkslahti A, Aunio P. The effects of motor skill and physical activity interventions on preschoolers’ cognitive and academic skills: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2022;155:106948.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Li L, Zhang J, Cao M, Hu W, Zhou T, Huang T, et al. The effects of chronic physical activity interventions on executive functions in children aged 3–7 years: a meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. 2020;23:949–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Zhang JY, Shen QQ, Wang DL, Hou JM, Xia T, Qiu S, et al. Physical activity intervention promotes working memory and motor competence in preschool children. Front Public Health. 2022;10:984887.

  23. Wang H, Ge W, Zhu C, Sun Y, Wei S. How pom cheerleading improves the executive function of preschool children: the mediating role of speed and agility. BMC Psychol. 2022;10:1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Jia N, Zhang X, Wang X, Dong X, Zhou Y, Ding M. The effects of diverse exercise on cognition and mental health of children aged 5–6 years: a controlled trial. Front Psychol. 2021;12:1–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Hirata G. Improving children’s executive functions: evidence from capoeira. Oxf Econ Pap. 2023;75:490–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Giordano G, Alesi M. Does physical activity improve inhibition in kindergarteners? A pilot study. Percept Mot Skills. 2022;129:1001–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Bai J, Huang H, Ouyang H. Effects of group-play moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity intervention on executive function and motor skills in 4- to 5-year-old preschoolers: a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial. Front Psychol. 2022;13:1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372: n71.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Ouzzani M, Hammady H, Fedorowicz Z, Elmagarmid A. Rayyan—a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2016;5.

  30. Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ WV (editors). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions version 6.2 (updated February 2021). Cochrane, 2021. Available from http://www.training.cochrane.org/handbook.

  31. Verhagen AP, De Vet HCW, De Bie RA, Kessels AGH, Boers M, Bouter LM, et al. The Delphi list: a criteria list for quality assessment of randomized clinical trials for conducting systematic reviews developed by Delphi consensus. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998;51:1235–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Schünemann HJ, Higgins JPT, Vist GE, Glasziou P, Akl EA, Skoetz N, et al. Completing ‘Summary of findings’ tables and grading the certainty of the evidence. In: Cochrane handb. syst. rev. interv. 2019. p. 375–402.

  33. Jackson D, Turner R. Power analysis for random-effects meta-analysis. Res Synth Methods. 2017;8:290–302.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Ortega FB, Mora-Gonzalez J, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Esteban-Cornejo I, Migueles JH, Solis-Urra P, et al. Effects of an exercise program on brain health outcomes for children with overweight or obesity: the ActiveBrains randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8):E2227893.

  35. Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Page M, Welch V. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane; 2022.

  36. Borenstein M, Hedges L V., Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR. Introduction to meta-analysis (2nd Edition). 2009. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  37. Burkart S, Roberts J, Davidson MC, Alhassan S. Behavioral effects of a locomotor-based physical activity intervention in preschoolers. J Phys Act Health. 2018;15:46–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Duncan M, Cunningham A, Eyre E. A combined movement and story-telling intervention enhances motor competence and language ability in pre-schoolers to a greater extent than movement or story-telling alone. Eur Phys Educ Rev. 2019;25:221–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Fisher A, Boyle JME, Paton JY, Tomporowski P, Watson C, McColl JH, et al. Effects of a physical education intervention on cognitive function in young children: randomized controlled pilot study. BMC Pediatr. 2011;11:97.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Gao Z, Lee JE, Zeng N, Pope ZC, Zhang Y, Li X. Home-based exergaming on preschoolers’ energy expenditure, cardiovascular fitness, body mass index and cognitive flexibility: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Med. 2019;8:1–13.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Jarraya S, Wagnr M, Jarraya M, Engel FA. 12 weeks of kindergarten-based yoga practice increases visual attention, visual-motor precision and decreases behavior of inattention and hyperactivity in 5-year-old children. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Lai Y, Wang Z, Yue GH, Jiang C. Determining whether tennis benefits the updating function in young children: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. Appl Sci. 2020;10(1):407.

  43. Mavilidi MF, Okely AD, Chandler P, Paas F. Effects of integrating physical activities into a science lesson on preschool children’s learning and enjoyment. Appl Cogn Psychol. 2017;31:281–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Mavilidi MF, Okely A, Chandler P, Louise Domazet S, Paas F. Immediate and delayed effects of integrating physical activity into preschool children’s learning of numeracy skills. J Exp Child Psychol. 2018;166:502–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Mulvey KL, Taunton S, Pennell A, Brian A. Head, toes, knees, SKIP! Improving preschool children’s executive function through a motor competence intervention. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2018;40:233–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Schmidt M, Mavilidi MF, Singh A, Englert C. Combining physical and cognitive training to improve kindergarten children’s executive functions: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Contemp Educ Psychol. 2020;63: 101908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Shen Y, Zhao Q, Huang Y, Liu G, Fang L. Promotion of street-dance training on the executive function in preschool children. Front Psychol. 2020;11:585598.

  48. Toumpaniari K, Loyens S, Mavilidi MF, Paas F. Preschool children’s foreign language vocabulary learning by embodying words through physical activity and gesturing. Educ Psychol Rev. 2015;27:445–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Wen X, Zhang Y, Gao Z, Zhao W, Jie J, Bao L. Effect of mini-trampoline physical activity on executive functions in preschool children. Biomed Res Int. 2018;2018:1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Xiong S, Li X, Tao K. Effects of structured physical activity program on chinese young children’s executive functions and perceived physical competence in a day care center. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Vasilopoulos F, Jeffrey H, Wu Y, Dumontheil I. Multi-level meta-analysis of physical activity interventions during childhood: effects of physical activity on cognition and academic achievement. Educ Psychol Rev. 2023;35:59.

  52. de Greeff JW, Bosker RJ, Oosterlaan J, Visscher C, Hartman E. Effects of physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance in preadolescent children: a meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. 2018;21:501–7.

  53. Robinson K, Riley N, Owen K, Drew R, Mavilidi MF, Hillman CH, et al. Effects of resistance training on academic outcomes in school-aged youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sport Med. 2023;53:2095–109.

  54. Lubans D, Richards J, Hillman C, Faulkner G, Beauchamp M, Nilsson M, et al. Physical activity for cognitive and mental health in youth: a systematic review of mechanisms. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20161642.

  55. Pinto-Escalona T, Valenzuela PL, Martin-Loeches M, Martinez-de-Quel O. Individual responsiveness to a school-based karate intervention: an ancillary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022;32:1249–57.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Hillman CH, Kamijo K, Scudder M. A review of chronic and acute physical activity participation on neuroelectric measures of brain health and cognition during childhood. Prev Med. 2011;52:S21–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Ludyga S, Mücke M, Andrä C, Gerber M, Pühse U. Neurophysiological correlates of interference control and response inhibition processes in children and adolescents engaging in open- and closed-skill sports. J Sport Heal Sci. 2022;11:224–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Brooks SJ, Parks SM, Stamoulis C. Widespread positive direct and indirect effects of regular physical activity on the developing functional connectome in early adolescence. Cereb Cortex. 2021;31:4840–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. García-Hermoso A, Alonso-Martinez AM, Ramírez-Vélez R, Izquierdo M. Effects of exercise intervention on health-related physical fitness and blood pressure in preschool children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sport Med. 2020;50:187–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Esteban-Cornejo I, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Contreras-Rodriguez O, Verdejo-Roman J, Mora-Gonzalez J, Migueles JH, et al. A whole brain volumetric approach in overweight/obese children: examining the association with different physical fitness components and academic performance. The ActiveBrains project. Neuroimage. 2017;159:346–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Raine L, Drollette E, Kao SC, Westfall D, Chaddock-Heyman L, Kramer AF, et al. The associations between adiposity, cognitive function, and achievement in children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018;50:1868–74.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Kelley GA, Kelley KS, Pate RR. Exercise and adiposity in overweight and obese children and adolescents: a systematic review with network meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e031220.

  63. Gallardo-Gómez D, del Pozo-Cruz J, Noetel M, Álvarez-Barbosa F, Alfonso-Rosa RM, del Pozo CB. Optimal dose and type of exercise to improve cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review and Bayesian model-based network meta-analysis of RCTs. Ageing Res Rev. 2022;76: 101591.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Pedro L. Valenzuela and Óscar Martínez-de-Quel share senior authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOVE-IT Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain

    Javier S. Morales

  2. Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA) Research Unit, Puerta del Mar University Hospital, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain

    Javier S. Morales

  3. Faculty of Education, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Eva Alberquilla del Río & Óscar Martínez-de-Quel

  4. Physical Activity and Health Research Group (‘PaHerg’), Research Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (‘imas12’), Centro de Actividades Ambulatorias, 7ª Planta, Bloque D. Av. de Córdoba s/n, 28041, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro L. Valenzuela

  5. Systems Biology Department, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro L. Valenzuela

  6. Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (INEF), Technical University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Óscar Martínez-de-Quel

Authors
  1. Javier S. Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eva Alberquilla del Río
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pedro L. Valenzuela
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Óscar Martínez-de-Quel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pedro L. Valenzuela.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This work was supported by a postdoctoral contract granted by Junta de Andalucía (PAIDI 2020, POSTDOC_21_00725 to JSM) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Sara Borrell, CD21/00138 to PLV).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the content of this article.

Availability of data and material

Data are available upon request.

Author contributions

OMQ conceived the idea for this review. EAdR and JSM conducted the literature search. EAdR, JSM and OMQ selected the articles for inclusion in the review and contributed to data extraction. PLV performed the statistical analyses. OMQ wrote the first draft of the manuscript. JSM and PLV revised the original manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 218 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Morales, J.S., Alberquilla del Río, E., Valenzuela, P.L. et al. Physical Activity and Cognitive Performance in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Sports Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02020-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02020-5

Search

Navigation