Sport improves concentration and quality of life
Study with primary school pupils confirms positive impact of physical
fitness

Date:
April 5, 2022
Source:
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Summary:
Physically fit primary school pupils feel better and can concentrate
better. They are more likely to make it to higher-level secondary
grammar schools than children with less sporting ability.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Physically fit primary school pupils feel better and can concentrate
better.

They are more likely to make it to higher-level secondary grammar schools
than children with less sporting abilities. This has been confirmed for
the first time in a study by the Department of Sport and Health Sciences
at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).


========================================================================== Movement on a regular basis keeps kids healthy and fit for school. The
benefits of sports have been demonstrated in numerous studies. Now
a research team at the TU Munich has found proof of the correlation
between physical fitness, concentration and health-related quality of
life for primary school pupils.

The study involved 3285 girls and 3248 boys from Bavaria's Berchtesgadener
Land district. The key criteria were physical strength and endurance,
the ability to concentrate and health-related quality of life, as
determined by the scientists according to internationally standardized
test procedures.

Promoting children's motor skills at an early stage is important
The results of the study show: The higher the level of children's
physical fitness, the better they can concentrate and the higher their health-related quality of life. While the boys did better on the fitness
tests, the girls performed better in terms of concentration and quality
of life values.

At the same time, in all tests for physical fitness overweight and obese children had significantly poorer results than underweight children and children with normal body weight. Obese children also had significantly
poorer values for health-related quality of life on the whole, physical well-being, self-esteem as well as well-being in friendships and at
school.



========================================================================== Sport helps on the way to higher-level secondary grammar schools Another important result of the study: "Primary school pupils with good physical fitness and a good ability to concentrate are more likely to make it to secondary grammar schools," says Prof. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz, holder
of the TUM Chair of Preventive Pediatrics and Dean of the TUM Department
of Sport and Health Sciences.

"This means it's all the more important to encourage motor
development in children at an early stage, since this can also
have a positive impact on the development of mental fitness,"
adds Prof. Oberhoffer-Fritz. "Collaboration among parents, schools,
communities and athletic clubs is very important when it comes to creating
a comprehensive and appropriate range of possibilities." Dr. Thorsten
Schulz, head of the study team at TUM: "Based on the results of the
study, since 2019 the Berchtesgadener Land District Administration
Office has been giving all first grade pupils in the region a voucher
for a one year membership in a sports club. This is a great example
for how different stakeholders can work together and help motivate
children to be more athletically active." The data were collected
based on internationally recognized and standardized, age-appropriate
tests. Thus physical strength and endurance were measured according to
the criteria of the FitnessGram guidelines, ability to concentrate was determined using the d2-R test and the health-related quality of life
(HRQOL) was measured using the KINDL questionnaire.

The study was conducted in compliance with the principles of the
Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the local ethics commission.

In a further study, the research team also investigated older children and young adults at secondary schools. An additional scientific publication
based on these data is planned.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Technical_University_of_Munich_(TUM). Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Katharina Ko"ble, Tanja Postler, Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz, Thorsten
Schulz. A Better Cardiopulmonary Fitness Is Associated with
Improved Concentration Level and Health-Related Quality of Life
in Primary School Children. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2022;
11 (5): 1326 DOI: 10.3390/ jcm11051326 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220405115234.htm

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