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Association between physical fitness components and fluid intelligence according to body mass index in schoolchildren

Camila Felin Fochesatto1, Adroaldo Cezar Araujo Gaya1, Carlos Cristi-Montero2

  • 1School of Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Dance, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Applied Neuropsychology. Child
|May 27, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Agility is linked to fluid intelligence in overweight/obese children, but not in normal-weight children. This finding highlights a specific physical fitness component

Area of Science:

  • Childhood obesity research
  • Cognitive development studies
  • Pediatric health and fitness

Background:

  • Physical fitness is crucial for children's health and cognitive function.
  • Overweight and obesity in children may negatively impact cognitive abilities.
  • Existing research suggests a link between physical fitness and cognition in youth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between physical fitness components and fluid intelligence.
  • To compare these relationships in normal-weight versus overweight/obese children.
  • To identify specific fitness aspects influencing fluid intelligence in different weight groups.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 317 schoolchildren (ages 6-11) in Brazil.
  • Fluid intelligence assessed using Raven's Colored Progressive Matrix Test.
  • Physical fitness evaluated via the "Brazil Sports Project" protocols; BMI calculated.

Main Results:

  • Agility showed an inverse association with fluid intelligence exclusively in the overweight/obese group (β = -1.506; p = 0.01).
  • Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness were not significantly associated with fluid intelligence in either group.
  • The relationship between agility and fluid intelligence was specific to children with overweight or obesity.

Conclusions:

  • Agility emerged as the sole physical fitness component linked to fluid intelligence.
  • This association was observed only in the overweight/obese cohort of schoolchildren.
  • Findings suggest targeted interventions focusing on agility may benefit cognitive function in overweight/obese children.

Keywords:
Cognitionobesityphysical fitnessstudents

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